


Scattered Sunshine

by Savvywolf



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Real World, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Building a Resistance, Crime Fighting, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, Family, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Family Reunions, Gen, I'm debating on a Turtle Splinter..., I'm not sure if that would be too much, Introducing the Ninja Turtle Comics into a Ninja Turtle universe, Kind of in the first chapter too, Minor Character Death, Psychic Abilities, Psychic Bond, Random Acts Of Kindness, Road Trips, Self-Insert, The Brady Bunch Turtle Style, Time Travel, Work In Progress, World Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-13
Updated: 2018-02-21
Packaged: 2019-01-16 22:49:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 31,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12352152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Savvywolf/pseuds/Savvywolf
Summary: Being reborn into a fictional universe as Tang Shen is just step one. Surviving the inevitable death scene should probably be step two. Step three likely involves turtles. Step four? Well, if we make it there I'm sure there will be fighting involved, because nothing in this universe is ever easy...If you already know that your presence is going to change things than putting all your knowledge out there seems like the thing to do. In which the turtles come into a world that thinks they are fiction and have many opportunities to mess with people all the while trying to save the world and maybe make it a better place while they are at it.





	1. Something New

**Author's Note:**

> I made an AO3 account so I could bookmark the stories that I found here but when I started writing myself again I decided to try posting my work up here as well. I do like the format for the stories on this site and I look forward to seeing how this will play out. I'm currently updating every Wednesday.
> 
> ENJOY!

Her eyes snapped open. She had married into a ninja clan, and while she wasn't one herself, things like the awareness of when you were alone seemed to rub off.

She was no longer alone.

Her breathing remained steady and her hand went under her husband's pillow to grasp the knife laying in the cold.

The room was silent save for the nearly inaudible breathing from the crib. The wind picked up from outside and when it faded the room was empty of sound.

The silence threw her out of bed and she fell across the room towards the corner gleaming metal in her hand, terror in her veins.

Faster than she could move her flight was halted, knife ripped away, and she hit the floor hard.

"Sorry my dear, you are too late." Male words dripped down and pooled into her breaking, disbelieving heart. "The baby is dead."

"No," She wasn't sure if she had spoken aloud until there was a chuckle.

"Oh, I'm afraid so, it's not your fault… or even hers. See, I am in need of a change. But those fools who think they can rule time have locked what they believe is the 'critical time period'." She tried to stand but found herself pinned to the ground by the end of a staff. "They are fools of course. So little understanding, time is one eternal round there is no part of it that is less important than the next. All it takes is the right push and all history can be molded. Future, past, similar in the fact that they change."

He was babbling nonsense but even as the words washed around her denial was clawing at her. Her baby, her baby, her baby!

"No," She cried out again and tried to struggle again towards the crib but the pressure increased and the breath left her.

"Ah, see now that wasn't very nice, I am in the middle of my exposition. There is something very, very satisfying about explaining what's going on, even if you won't remember it." The laughter came again, and panic edged across her vision. "It's a part of the thrill. You understand of course. Why would anyone face the end of everything and not get in their chance to speak?

"You, however, you won't get to see when it'll all end. See, that's the nice thing about being you, so inconsequential that the world won't even remember your name. You'll be a nameless mother of a named but not important mother."

This time there was a fury in her panic and thrashing as well as some choice words.

"See, even the great 'lords' of time don't see the power gifted to those who create the next generation. But, I digress. You see, your daughter is dead. I pulled the soul from her and sent it to the afterlife. It's nothing personal, like I said she was a named but ultimately unimportant plot point. However, I need someone I can control, someone who will cause changes and mold the supposed heroes into what they need to become."

With that he reached down and squeezed hard at her neck and her entire body went limp.

"Screw you." She managed to choke out.

The looming form just shrugged and moved away from her and back towards the crib. "Don't worry, the universe is doing a good job of screwing me over. See, this is just me reclaiming what's been taken from me."

The man leaned over the crib and despite the man's words about her baby being dead her protective instinct screamed at her to move to protect her child. The man started speaking again still talking to her like they were having an afternoon chat.

"I'm thinking an enslaved demon will be exactly what your daughter's empty husk needs right now. She'll be good don't worry, you won't even realize that your baby is different. She won't do much until the time is right… and by then you'll be dead."

Her head was still turned towards the crib and so she was able to see the figure raise the staff and start chanting. A glow took form above the silent crib and started swirling. Frozen as she was that didn't stop the tears from coming.

"Oi!" There was a flash somewhere behind her and the sound of sliding chains, the man turned and for the first time she saw his face, empty black eyes trapped in a rage filled mask which slacked into pain as a weighted chain slammed into his chest knocking him into the wall. Something large, and green landed on the edge of her vision, and a young voice echoed from the spot. "Stay away from my mom and grandma!"

"Impossible," the dark figures voice had turned furious for the first time, "There is no way that they could have traced my changes outside of their precious time lock."

"That's cause they didn't, I'm here on personal business." The voice though defensive seemed confident and for the first time since she had been pulled out of sleep there was hope. The chain flashed again and the green figure jumped. A snarl ripped through the room and the staff in the intruder's hand began to glow. Everything slowed down, the second figure smiled, the chain slid out, a knife was thrown, and the whole room lit up in a brilliant bright white.

The first figure screamed in rage and, incongruently, the second figure laughed. It wasn't until the light changed that she had been able to recognize that the first glow hadn't been a color that she could name, but now the swirling above the crib was almost too bright of a white to look at. It also shed light on both figures.

The first figure looked almost mundane save for his eyes. He wore traditional ninja garb but a cruelty to his stance that betrayed the monster hiding on the inside. In contrast the figure standing protectively in front of her looked almost like a turtle demon out of her childhood stories, but when it glanced back at her eyes as blue as the midday sky looked at her and a grin split his face.

"Don't worry grandma, I didn't come alone." he, for it had to be a he, and a young one at that, said even as the other figure lunged at him but then there was a whack and a bō stopped the staff just before it could hit the turtle facing her. The air shimmered in the light and a taller turtle like figure stepped into the room from seemingly no-where to join the chain wielding turtle.

"You fools! Now there is no telling what will come out of the portal. You could have just erased yourselves from existence!"

"Careful there," The tall one said as he shifted putting more weight against the glowing staff, "If you phrase it that way you might actually sound like you care."

"There was supposed to be a change! You should be bowing before me!"

Before anything else could be said the light suddenly flashed brighter. She was forced to close her eyes, another new distinct voice cried out "Get down!" there were four thuds and the ground shook. There was a cry of pain and suddenly the light was gone.

There was a brief moment of silence and then the sound of metal meeting metal sent goosebumps up her arms and she forced her eyes open only to flinch them closed again when a green foot nearly landed on her head.

The first man seemed to have regained some sense of balance as his face was placid and calm again even as his body was a flurry of too fast motion. Around the room four green forms blurred, bouncing off each other and off of walls always coming back towards the first figure.

"See, now this is intriguing. I admit you have caught me off guard. You can't be the versions that the time manipulators locked away, so you must be a new version. Something that I affected." His words were cut off when one of the green blurs got in a hit and sent the man flying into the wall.

The four turtles paused for just long enough for her to see the defensive way they stood in front of her and the crib before they moved forward again but the pause seemed to have been to the man's advantage as he was on his feet staff faced outward and another unidentifiable light shone from his staff causing the room to freeze.

"Enough, you are much better than I would anticipate from you at this age. You could have been my warriors." The man sighed, and she wanted to swear at his condescending tone but she knew better than to draw attention to herself, especially since feeling was tingling back into her arms. "No matter, while you aren't the versions I was hoping for you will still cause plenty of problems for the time masters, and that will be all the distraction I need to really get things moving."

With that the man started walking forward. "But you knew I would be here, and that is something I can not have, I'll have to bury that knowledge away. I'm not sure what my presence here has linked itself to in your minds, but I know that it can not stay."

He moved in closer to the turtle closest to him, and from her angle on the floor she could see absolute panic in surprisingly bright green eyes.

She didn't know what was going on. She didn't know who any of these figures were, but there was only one thing she cared about in that moment.

She hadn't been born into a ninja clan, but marrying into one meant that you picked up a few things.

Like how to throw a knife.

Scooped up from the floor the knife that usually rested underneath her husband's pillow flew silently and true. The figure had broken into her house, had claimed to kill her child, all the while chatting about her being unimportant enough to be forgotten. It seemed that he himself had forgotten her and now he was going to pay for his own lack of judgement. No one should ever threaten a child. Especially in front of their mother.

He seemed to sense the knife, but it was too late. Even as he turned his head and tried to lean out of the way the knife slid across the side of his head and managed to cut along his left eye. Black blood streamed from the cut and the light faded. The turtles started moving again but the man growled, low and inhuman and there was a flash of the same strange light and he was gone.

There was a silence that descended and then one of the turtles swore, "Sewer-apples, we almost had him!"

"We knew it wasn't likely we were going to catch him this time," The tallest one said though he remained tense. "Not after what mom told us."

"He's right, and when we do find him again we'll need the whole team." another one said and she slowly started bringing herself to her knees. Her whole body ached and she still didn't know what was going on but she had to get to the crib she had to see if…

"Hey grandma Tang, do you need help?" She looked up and met the eyes of the first turtle, sky blue and earnest in a way that she had never really seen before. He was reaching a large three fingered hand out to her and it showed something about her state of mind that she didn't even hesitate to put her hand into his. Her only focus was on the crib.

The other three turtles had gone silent and were staring at her in what could only be described as awe but she couldn't focus on that, leaning her shaking body against the incredibly stable form of the smallest turtle she made her way to the crib in four achingly long steps.

There laying in the moonlight was her little girl. "Shen," She finally whispered reaching for the baby. "Shen?" There was breath in the little infant body and she felt tears come to her eyes but still the moment of absolute silence that had flung her from her bed seemed to echo in her mind, and the man's words… he had claimed he wanted to replace her daughter with a demon.

Her hands brushed against the baby's head but they shook so much that she wasn't sure she would have the strength to pick her up. So instead she turned back to face the four beings who had come to her aid.

"Who are you?" She started. There were a million things that didn't make sense at the moment but she would start small. "You called me grandma Tang, you know my married name but I am not nearly old enough to be a grandmother, let alone yours."

There was a flinch from a couple of them and a foot scuffle from another and it struck her that despite their strange appearances they did seem very young. Now that they weren't jumping around and she wasn't quite as panicked she was able to see more of the differences. The most obvious to her was their heights but she could tell even in the dark that they each wore a different colored mask. After the intense white light from earlier her eyes had yet to adjust but the one who had helped her to the crib seemed to have the brightest of their four colors.

The ones with the red and blue masks exchanged glances and the red one gave a nod before looking back at her and she got a chance to look into his bright green eyes before the blue one cleared his throat.

"My name is Leonardo, and these are my brothers, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello. We know you because we're time travelers."

She raised an eyebrow at the obviously non-japanese names and then the other eyebrow joined the first at their 'explanation'.

"Do all time travelers look like you?" It was the first question that came out of her mouth.

"Nope," the one named Michelangelo started. "We're unique but we are your grandkids… kind of. You see Shen's our mom-"

"Before you freak out, we're adopted." The tallest one interjected.

"Nu-uh!" the orange one popped back up. "Mom said-" and the blue one grabbed onto Michelangelo's shell and pulled him to the side to whisper something in english into his ear. She had taken english in school but even so the sentence. "Let's not bring aliens and mutagen into this." didn't make any sense to her.

"Anyways," The one in red picked up. "To keep things simple since we don't have a lot of time," He directed this last part to the two turtles still whispering in english before turning his focus back to her. "Yes, we look weird, yes, we are from the future. That's how we knew to come back in time to help, because you tell this story to your daughter, who tells it to us."

"Is she still my daughter?" The question that had been burning inside finally slipped through her mouth. A part of her was fascinated by these boys who claimed to be of her line but more than anything she had to know… she had to know what had happened to her baby.

At this all four of the turtles froze and shared looks with each other and fear coupled with terrible despair gripped her heart.

"Biologically yes," The tallest one finally spoke, his voice gentle as he reached out to her placing his large hand on her arms keeping her from falling over. "What S-" he cut himself off. "What that man was trying to do was put a soul that he controlled into your baby. But, because we interrupted the ritual the portal went wild opened to a random place in the universe, and based on the fact that we are still here in front of you and not fading out of existence-"

"Try and keep it simple Donnie." The red one cut in.

"Right, sorry, well instead of a demon, a soul from another reality was pulled into this plane of reality." The words were said in what she assumed was supposed to be a tone of comfort but all she could pull from his explanation was the fact that her baby was dead.

"No she's not dead." The words answering her inner thoughts were spoken by the one in blue, Leonardo. "That girl right there is still your daughter. She's still a baby, a girl who was just pulled from her past life and into this one. She's not going to remember everything right away but she needs you. She'll still love you, and you'll still get to see her grow up. No one knows exactly who their child will turn out to be but that doesn't mean you don't still try and help them be the best they can be."

"Yah," Michelangelo said with a smile. "Take it from us, that baby in there is going to be an awesome daughter, because she's your daughter. And then someday she'll be an awesome mom! Because she got to see an awesome mom in you."

"This doesn't mean you shouldn't mourn who your baby was going to be." Donatello said softly. "But this is like a second chance. I'm so sorry we weren't able to make it in time to save your first daughters soul, but this daughter is going to love you too."

"And grandma Tang," The one in red started. "You won't have to worry about that guy ever again. We're going to get him, and make sure that your family is safe."

"Noma," She said finally, looking across the room to meet all of their eyes one by one. "My name is Noma."

Raphael smirked "We know, our mom told us."

With that another light filled the room and Leonardo looked over at her as he took a step into the light. "We've got to go, but it really is going to be okay, we promise."

"Love you grandma!" Michelangelo called out as he jumped through the glowing door.

"Remember we've got your back." Raphael said with a nod as he joined his brothers.

"They're right," Donatello finished off with a gap toothed smile. "We'll make sure it all works out."

And with that they were gone.

Noma took a deep breath and turned back towards the sleeping baby. She picked up the precious burden and started to cry. She was still half convinced that all of this was a dream but something deep inside told her that everything had just changed. She wanted to fall apart but looking down at the familiar face of her baby all she could do was hug the child closer. "Shen, my baby Shen."


	2. Something Changed

Noma never did tell her husband about what had happened that night. The bruises from where the man had pinned her down and hit her pressure points faded by the time he came back from his business trip and by then she had fallen in love with her child all over again. Some part of her would always wonder what her baby would have originally been like but at such young age her baby didn't actually show any signs of remembering another life. And it was easy to love one who loved and reached for her so unconditionally. Trying to explain to her husband would have just added more stress to his life and to their relationship.

But she also never forgot.

So when Shen turned two and Noma recognized english mixed in with her toddler Japanese she quietly started brushing up on her english and using it in the house. It would not do to have a clan full of paranoid ninjas wondering where her daughter had learned such a skill. The confused and exasperated looks weren't as easy to fix but it was better than the alternative.

At three when her daughter started coming into her room at night complaining of bad dreams, if her husband wasn't at home, which he often wasn't, she would insist on her daughter telling her about what she dreamed about. The dreams were rarely bad. Her daughter had a safe childhood in her past life. And Noma found herself enjoying hearing her daughter explain what it was like to go camping out in the forest, to go to school in america, to visit a large extended family who lived in all different sorts of environments.

She also spoke of the activities she enjoyed. Shen obviously had a wild imagination and she would go into details about whatever story or show that she had dreamed up the night before. Harry Potter, Star Wars, The Avengers, Teen Titans, Naruto, Avatar the last Airbender, Powerpuff girls, Danny Phantom, The Chronicles of Narnia and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This last one was the one that interested Noma the most and her poker face got a lot of practice when she talked about the four brothers who saved the world from aliens and other supernatural threats. Sometimes in her daughters excitement she would see a flash of orange cloth covering excited blue eyes.

There would be a time to talk about it more but Noma knew that time hadn't come yet.

This continued until her daughter was six. Going to school and being compared to other children, it was obvious she was a very gifted child, this did not seem to please some of the more influential members of the clan. Noma did her best to smooth things over and it worked to a degree however she was grateful that she didn't have to deal as much with the scrutiny of Yuuta. The clan head was much more worried about raising his two sons he barely even glanced at a distant side branch who mainly worked on the financial side of the great Hamato clan anyways.

Or at least she didn't worry until her daughter came home with a bruise on her face.

"What happened?" She asked as she gently cleaned around the swollen skin.

"It was that stupid Yoshi." And Noma almost froze but she managed to keep working with only a small pause to show for her sudden distress. "He and his brother were fighting, and I told them to stop and they just ignored me!" She looked so mad for a moment Noma couldn't help but smile. "Fighting doesn't make any sense! They're supposed to be brothers! Why don't they love each other."

"Sometimes people show love differently." Noma stated, "But you telling them to stop doesn't explain how you got this bruise on your face."

The little girl looked down and blushed. "I guess I thought if they weren't going to listen then I would have to make them stop."

"So you tried to get in between the two and ended up hurt." Noma said with just a hint of disappointment. "I've told you already Shen, you can't force people to do what you want."

"I know." And she actually sounded frustrated with herself. "I know, I've learned this before I know I have, dad had to talk to me about it so many times before I finally learned."

Noma did pause at this. She had used the english word for dad and she hadn't even noticed. A swell of sadness swept through her. She supposed she should be happy that Shen's previous father obviously cared for her so much. But when she spoke of her dad it only made Noma wish that Shen's current father could be as present.

Not long after the incident two boys showed up at their door their imposing father behind them. Noma's hands had only shaken a little as she served them all tea. Both boys had apologized on their father's order, and Shen had been perfectly polite in her replies but while the clan head's back was turned Noma caught her daughter sticking her tongue out at the two boys who looked outraged at the gesture. Something in Noma relaxed then, those boys had no idea what they were getting into. The tension came right back when Yuuta looked over at her eyes narrowed. She had married into a ninja clan, she knew better than almost anyone that ninja's would not take kindly to secrets. Especially if they couldn't prove you had them.

It wasn't long after that that the sight of the three children together became more and more common. Girls were not put into training like the boys were but it was obvious that Shen had convinced the two brothers to show her some of what they were learning as she started coming home with more bruises but big smiles.

Noma would smile as she treated her daughter but sometimes at night when her daughter would come find her she would whisper about the fact that learning to fight was something totally different from what her dreams were like, and Noma would wonder if she was doing the right thing letting her daughter go out with the clan heirs.

Shen was twelve when she came in crying. Even though her daughter was much older than when many children would come into their parents it was a tradition that her daughter would come in every night that she had a dream when her father wasn't home.

"I remember dying." She finally whispered after the tears had stopped. "There was an accident, I was in New York and got hit by a car, I was face down looking at a swear hole and I remember thinking that it would be funny if my last thoughts were about Ninja turtles." She let out a wet laugh, "I guess that was my last thought."

Noma was quiet for a long moment but she finally readjusted her arms around her daughter and pulled her closer.

"Every night since you were a little girl you have come and told me stories. Now it's time that I tell you one."

Shen stayed curled up by her side for the duration of the tale and even though her breathing had evened out Noma knew her daughter was awake she could practically hear her mind racing and going over the new information.

Finally Noma felt little arms wrap around her and Shen squeezed tight. "Thank you so much for taking care of me. I can't imagine how hard it must have been to lose your baby."

"It was hard, but the turtles were right, you are my baby too." At that Shen gave her another hard squeeze and a laugh.

"The turtles… the actual time traveling turtles… who called me their mom. Oh my gosh! Mom, what am I supposed to do? I've literally fallen into a fantasy but at the same time it's so real... I am real? Aren't I?"

"Of course you are! You are my precious girl, and while I don't have all the answers right now I do know this." She pulled her daughter away from her slightly so she could look her in the eyes. "It really is going to be okay, no matter what, we'll figure it out. Just because your dreams are real doesn't mean that you don't have school tomorrow and that you still have time to grow and to learn."

Shen took a deep breath and nodded. "You're right. I know you are…" and then she trailed off paling. "School… Yoshi, Saki… Mom, they… they're characters from the Ninja turtles show." Noma sat up in bed pulling her daughter up to do the same as her breathing had become erratic again. "Mom, if I replaced Tang Shen then Saki is going to kill me." Tension radiated through the room and for a split second Noma could see the dark figure from that night so many years ago standing over the crib that no longer stood in the corner. And then everything snapped back into place as she looked into the wide eyes of her daughter.

"Tell me everything you can remember." she finally requested when she was able to breathe again.

And so she did. It was a shock for Noma to learn that Saki was a child of the foot clan and more so to learn that he would someday wipe out the Hamato clan leaving Yoshi as the only surviving member until he would one day end up as a rat raising four turtles in the sewers. It felt like one of the fantastic tales her daughter had told her before. The difference was that this time she had distinct faces to the people her daughter named. She had seen the four turtles and knew many members of the Hamato clan, as distant as they were at times. She couldn't imagine the two brothers who spent so much time at her house turning to enemies… and yet there were times.

She did end up pulling her daughter out of school the next day and the two of them spent the day walking through the gardens speaking in english to each other to try and throw off any stray listeners. The thought of just leaving was tossed around a couple times but Shen finally admitted that even if she couldn't make people do what she wanted she needed to try and help the two doomed brothers.

"Will you be able to go to school and look both of them in the eyes and pretend nothing has changed?" Noma asked finally. They were sitting by a koi pond and Shen was staring at the fish like they held all the answers.

"Can I condemn a fourteen year old boy for something he hasn't done yet?" It wasn't a question that she had been expecting from a twelve year old but Shen was no longer just a twelve year old.

"Can you?"

Shen was quiet for a long time. "I don't know. Is evil born or made? Logically I can't blame him but he was one of my cartoon villains growing up. I'm not sure I can feel for him past that. I have two versions of him in my head… I have two versions of Yoshi too. I just don't know."

"Moral questions aside, if you can't treat them like you have been then we need an explanation. The clan…" She trailed off but the sardonic smile on her daughter's face broke her heart. She wasn't sure if her daughter had noticed the dark looks but her daughter had always been observant adding a previous life's memories would only have made the signs clearer.

"I know," Shen's voice was self condemning. "But what can I do? They're... they're my friends, my only friends, I can't just ignore them."

Noma wanted nothing more than to tell her daughter to leave them well alone. Her association with the boys already made things... difficult at times, but her daughter was right. She was so proud, she was also terrified and some part of her knew that not everything her daughter did was due to Noma's influence but due to her past family, but Shen was still her daughter, and she had always had a firm sense of morals coupled with the will to choose the harder right, rather than the easier wrong. She just hoped that now that her daughter knew the truth, and more than that, now that her daughter had a vague sense of the future that she would be able to continue to choose the right thing.

The first time the boys came over after... the realization Noma couldn't help but be confused. Shen still hugged the boys tightly, she still laughed freely, she still made faces when she thought she could get away with it. Only after the boys left did she deflate and Noma hugged her daughter tightly as she cried. "I just want them to be happy mom. Why can't they be happy?"

Noma wanted to be angry but in the face of her daughters tears she couldn't be, "They are happy right now, hold tight to that dear. Prepare for the future but live in the present. Don't beat yourself down for something you have no control over."

Shen was silent but Noma knew that look in her eyes, her daughter wasn't about to let this go.

Shen was thirteen when she came home with a determined glint in her eye.

"Mom, it's 1983."

"Yes it is?" She stated with a question waiting to see what her daughter was up to now.

"In 1984 Eastman and Laird came up with the idea for ninja turtles and self published it as a spoof off of some of the more popular comics of the times, comics that do exist in this world by the way."

"I'm always so impressed by the random facts you keep up in your head."

Shen rolled her eyes. "See if I had been reborn in Harry Potter I could give you even more than that, Ninja turtles was kind of a passing thing for me but things like that just stick for some reason. Anyways, you've already convinced me that I'm not crazy and I'm pretty sure I'm in the 2012 show continuity but this world seems to mirror my previous one pretty well, I mean there has been the Beatles and Elvis and a few other things that I've been able to look up when I'm not trapped here at the compound. It mirrors up so well that I wonder if Leo will be a trekkie rather than a space-nick since that seemed to be only for copyright purposes."

"Honey you're getting off track."

"Right sorry, so I was thinking, one of the biggest problems for the turtles is they were worried that someone would see them and reject them because of their mutant status. But what if the world already knew about them?"

At this Noma looked up to see her daughters excited expression. Her first thought was that this was going to take a lot of work. But her daughter continued. "If we could contact this world's version of Eastman and Laird and give them the idea our worlds are similar enough that the story should evolve just like it did on my world. We could change some names but keep the basic story line the same and then someday when the turtles are ready and the world really is going into chaos people won't freak out as much because it will be like finding out your heroes are real!"

Noma leaned back against the counter and looked her daughter in the eyes. "Okay, so if we do that what about the aliens who you think are going to invade? What will they do?"

"This world already has Star Trek and Doctor Who, one more mid-popular show about aliens shouldn't get their attention."

"A show that has them portrayed at least semi-accurately?"

"See that's the brilliance of the turtle continuity, the kind of Kraang we see in the 2012 show don't really show up, until the 2012 show, the previous incarnations are different if we just give them a different name I don't think they'll even notice."

"Okay, what about the Foot clan?"

"I'm kind of hoping they won't exist, because Saki can really be a good guy." Shen admitted looking down. Talking about the boys always made her tense. "But if it does happen, I think the different names will be enough, that and the ninja clans here already don't pay any attention to pop culture if they noticed the similarity between their story and a cartoon about turtles I'd be impressed."

"Shen that's not a guarantee and you know it."

At that Shen finally huffed and looked away. "I know mom, but some part of me really hopes that this could work. They aren't even really going to be my kids and if I do manage to live long enough to raise them they probably won't be the same as the cartoons I remember." She looked back up and met her eyes. "But even if they are a little bit like them then they deserved so much more than what they got and maybe we could do something about that."

Noma sighed and had to close her eyes to the determined brown only for her closed lids to cause similar brown eyes flash at her from the form of a tall purple banded turtle. The four of them had been branded into her mind since that night and even more so now she couldn't help but feel just a bit indebted to them.

"Okay, we can try." Shen whooped and jumped into the air, it was impressive to see how high she was able to get as a result of all her training. "Now do you remember these comic book creator's first names?" she asked and watched as her daughter's eyes widened and blanked. Noma sighed, it was going to be a lot of hard work.

It took a while to find the starting up Mirage studio, by the time the year switched to 1984 Shen was getting nervous but Noma simply calmed her down and they kept searching until their letters found the right place.

Noma had married into a ninja clan, things like learning how to manipulate people tended to rub off. Under a false name she and Shen sent out an investment into the concept of ninja turtles with a small proviso written in that if the concept was still around in 2012 they would be able to have a say in the storyboard of it.

They got one of the first copies of it mailed to their post box and Shen squealed like a little girl when she saw it and the two of them read the black and white pages and laughed like children.

It seemed like such a small thing but Noma held her daughter close and enjoyed the feeling of victory no matter how small in the face of the increasingly tense world that she and her daughter performed in. Things weren't perfect, in fact it wasn't long after Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles took off that Shen started getting more tense when it came to the boys they were still friends but instead of being buoyant when she came home many times she was just tired.

It was probably for the best that she put a little distance between them as they all got older. By the time Shen was fifteen Noma could see the looks the boys would give her daughter when the two of them would walk her home. They were all growing up.

Of course Shen didn't miss the looks either and it sent her into another spiral of despair.

"No you don't understand! I don't know the word for it in japanese but I'm a demisexual! It means I'm not even attracted to people until I'm emotionally close with them. If Yoshi is going to be my husband how in the world am I supposed to get close to him if I don't tell him about everything? Relationships can't be based on lies! What if me trying to get close to him is just me manipulating the situation anyways? Who's to say that I would even like him at all? I'm not the original Tang Shen!"

"Sweetheart you need to calm down." Noma said soothingly as she pulled her daughter into a hug. "First of all, you were in second grade when you came in and told me you had a crush on Yoshi and that was before you knew all of this so you at least can check that off the list."

"But mom, I was in second grade… and oh my gosh he's seventeen! I'm like mentally in my twenties or maybe more. Do I add my two life ages together? If I do that would make me an even bigger cradle robber!"

"Shen, you are a fifteen year old girl, you're not a cradle robber, past lives don't count." She tapped her daughter on the chin making her look up into her eyes. "As for manipulating the situation, Honey, he's your friend, even if the last few years you've been trying to distance yourself he keeps coming back. He at the very least cares about you so why not give him a chance. You don't have to tell him everything now because you are not getting married right now. You have plenty of time so take a deep breath sweetheart."

Shen still stared at her wide eyed for a long moment before taking several deep breaths. "Okay you're right. I can do this. I can be friends and I don't need to worry about it… Until they both fall in love with me and start a feud that will threaten to destroy the world!"

Noma sighed, it was going to be one of those days.

Shen did eventually follow her advice but this brought new problems into the increasingly tangled dance that was their lives. She wasn't the only one who had noticed the boys increasing infatuation and the whispers she heard around the clan compound were slowly sliding into less polite territory. It would have been one thing if Shen was more normal, more conforming to the very traditional standards. But her daughter was not what the members thought she should be, and they often blamed Noma for this. She tried not to go out but whenever she did the eyes of Yuuta seemed to follow her.

Still life moved on. Her daughter graduated right alongside the two boys despite being younger, though Shen just smiled politely at the pointed remarks. Both of the boys were apprenticed into the Hamato family business. Shen wanted to go to college but tradition was that she would take over her father's accounting position eventually. Her husband had been scarce while Shen was growing up and Noma knew intellectually the formal distance between the two of them was more of the norm in the clan she still wished sometimes that the warm closeness that Shen just fostered would be the more common relationship rather than being the outlier.

Still, he cared for his daughter and Shen did not want to let him down so she started working with him on the clan finances. With that shift her daughters rants shifted as well. Computers, cell phones, television, technology in general. She wanted it all back into her life. Much of what she talked about existed to one degree or another but with the traditionalism in the clan things were a... bit behind the times. To the girl who talked about smartphones and laptops it was obvious she did not want to do her accounting on paper when she knew there was a better way.

Noma just laughed before consulting with her daughter on what technology companies she thought she should invest in. If things continued as they were... well it might not be a bad idea to have a trust fund somewhere. Noma tried to convince herself that it was their Alien invasion fund, but even her husband was growing distant.

The seasons were changing and both of the Hamato boys were getting busier and busier but somehow both of them found time to spend time with her daughter. Her husband was quite pleased with the arrangement, but Noma could see the way the situation was weighing on her daughter. Picking which boy was a no brainer, but Noma knew her daughter would always be second guessing herself until she was ready to open up to Yoshi.

The issue wasn't something she could push her daughter on but they both knew that the time for waiting was drawing to a close. The eyes of the clan, were on them all the time now, something was going to change. She just hoped when the time did come, it wouldn't end up in flames.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double posting to catch up with Fanfic.net. We are SLOWLY getting there!


	3. Something Broken

There were three things that mattered in life. The clan, pleasing his father, and Tang Shen. The clan and his father had been in the center of his being for as long as he could remember, but he couldn't distinguish a single point in time when Shen came to matter to him so much. Perhaps it was that she would smile when his father would frown, when she would laugh in the face of disappointment, when she would sneak him and Saki out of the compound to listen to what she referred to as 'prime 80s music'.

Or maybe it was when his father tried to turn him against her.

Looking back he should have seen the way his father's eyes had narrowed whenever he and Saki would talk about Shen. He should have seen the way that Saki looked at her. It was similar to how he looked at her. More than anything he should have noticed far earlier how the rest of the clan looked at her.

His shift in focus happened in the clan dojo.

"Yame!" Ringing out Yoshi froze, his fist just a hair's breadth away from Saki's matching fist. The two of them stood still and Yoshi shared a look of confusion with his brother. Their father never stopped their sparring this early.

"Sit my sons," Yoshi and Saki sat quickly in mirrored movements looking at their father waiting for him to speak. It didn't take long. "Something troubles the two of you. You are both distracted."

Yoshi shared a look of guilt and frustration with his brother, their father was correct but they both instinctively knew he would not be happy with their answer. Yoshi lost the brief battle of wills and he looked back towards his father.

"Shen, wasn't in school today, or yesterday. We tried checking up on her but her mother said she was sick." He looked down slowly as his father's stare edged into stern rebuke.

There was silence for a long moment and Saki was the one who finally shifted in discomfort before their father let out a sigh. "And why do you care so much for this girl?"

Yoshi felt a brief flash of anger, but he squashed it ruthlessly. He was fourteen he could control his temper in front of his father.

"She's smart," Saki spoke up, "She helps us with our homework and she isn't a bad fighter either, she will be a great asset to the clan someday." Yoshi mentally filled in the parts his brother wasn't saying. 'She's also beautiful, and when they hung out with her they felt like normal kids rather than the clan heirs, and her mom made really good cakes, and her laughter was like sunshine...'

Yoshi's own thoughts trailed off as his father's eyes narrowed. "As future clan heads you should not be relying on those who you are meant to lead. Should you rely on someone and they fail you what would the outcome be?" Yoshi bowed his head and tried to let his father's words fill him but all they did was clash with his confused feelings. Yoshi hated it when his father started asking questions like this. He never knew what answer would please the head of the clan and which would bring the disappointment and anger.

"Shen wouldn't do that!" Yoshi blurted out, his mouth snapped shut but it was too late.

"Oh? There are many ways to fail a person. I can already see the way that this girl has softened both of you turning you against each other!" Yoshi looked up confused. Turning them against each other? He had fought less with his brother since that little five year old girl had broken up their fight many years ago.

Saki also looked surprised but there was a thoughtful wrinkle in his brow and Yoshi wanted to roll his eyes. Saki always thought that Father's words were correct, even when he couldn't possibly know everything about the situation.

"I expect better from you both, your next assignment is to watch the girl and her mother and report on what you observe."

Yoshi nodded but his confusion was turning to anger. What was his father expecting them to find? Why did he even care? Couldn't he just leave Shen out of it?

Shen was back in school the next day. After working himself up so much after his father's 'assignment' he had pictured every sort of scenario from her suddenly trying to kill him and Saki to her declaring that she was an American spy sent to destroy the clan. But the moment her eyes landed on him she lit up, and were those… tears in her eyes? Yoshi didn't even have a moment to adjust when she threw her arms around him and started crying.

"Shen?" Saki called out startled. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know what the future is going to be like but I'm just so happy that we're all alive right now." She said as she pulled back so she could hug Saki. Yoshi was too stunned to do anything but gape even as he saw her trembling arms. She hadn't shook when she had hugged him but the tremors were there when she clung to Saki.

His brother looked just as bewildered as Yoshi felt and the feeling didn't ever quite go away. Something had happened while she was gone from school and coupled with their father's words Yoshi felt like she constantly haunted his thoughts. Everything she did was either suspect or a blessing or both. She was different but she held onto them tightly, took ninjutsu training more seriously, and there were times… when she spoke with wisdom far beyond her years.

Their father hadn't said anything in response to their report but later, as Yoshi was heading to bed he heard his father speaking quietly to someone about the Tang family. He hadn't realized there was a frown on his face until he got back to his room and looked in the mirror.

He didn't know why, and he was kind of scared to even think about if there was a reason for it. But for some reason, his father didn't see Shen or her family as part of the clan. He saw them the way he looked at other outsiders… as a threat.

He redoubled his efforts in watching her, he tried to see what it could possibly be that his father had seen that he hadn't. Even if he didn't always agree with him, his father was still a wise man there had to be something.

He was almost relieved when years later he found that there was a correspondence going on between, Tang Noma and someone in America. Relieved but also betrayed. In between all his and Saki's 'observations' there had been so many moments of free laughter between them and the Tang family. It was nothing like the strict structure of the dojo. The life that he knew. It was warm and compelling. He had hoped that his father's suspicions were wrong that nothing was going on. But here was the proof.

Red tinted his vision. How could they? How could Shen use him like that? Fury rose in him and he almost fell out of the tree he was hiding in when Shen suddenly came barreling out of her house breathless and whooping for joy.

The sun glinted off her hair and while she wasn't running with the ninja grace he knew she could her gait was fast. Everything stilled and something constricted painfully in his chest. How could she laugh so freely if she was planning on betraying the clan? Betraying him?

He felt the fury rise back up when she made her way back to the mailbox where Yoshi had found the incriminating manila folder suspiciously heavy back where he found it so as to not tip them off that they had been discovered. Her joy came from her treachery. He almost turned away then, but the moment the folder was in her hands she ripped it open and held a… black and white picture book up in the air with a cry of delight. He couldn't make out the small writing but.. It didn't look like plans to defeat the clan. Even if it was Yoshi couldn't picture her waving sensitive information in the air.

"TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES!" The jingle/battle cry she had shouted was in english and it took Yoshi a few moments to translate it but he was sure he had gotten something wrong. That couldn't have been what she had said… could it?

Yoshi stayed frozen up in the tree long after Shen had run inside and he could vaguely hear laughter floating through the breeze as mother and daughter read… an American manga together.

He went home vaguely ashamed that he had so easily turned on his friend. It was all his father's fault. A spark of anger built up inside his chest and he went to the dojo to work it off only to find Saki there bowing before the object of his frustration. Yoshi wanted to turn around and leave but he knew his presence had already been sensed so he came and sat down.

"My son, your brother has found some interesting information." Yoshi felt his blood freeze but he struggled to keep his face clear. "It seems the Tang family has been storing up a trust fund of sorts. We are unsure of where the funds are coming from but seeing as Tang is one of our minor accountants we have reason to watch our own accounts closely."

Yoshi frowned but said nothing, he wasn't expected to. His father felt like he was proving a point. But something had shifted as he had watched Shen running and laughing. He knew that she wasn't trying to hurt him, the clan, or anyone. He knew it in the core of who he was and he pulled that knowledge into his center. They had only just started on the mental shinobi arts and Saki was better at it than he was but, for once, gathering in his emotions was easy.

Inside his own mind he moved his father out of the top spot and shifted Shen closer. He told himself that it was for the clan. Change could only be a good thing, but the tightness in his chest didn't disappear.

That night Saki pulled him aside. "I still believe Shen could be a valued member of the clan… we just need to convince her."

Yoshi opened his mouth to reply but there was a glint in his brother's eyes and he closed it again before nodding.

Years passed and Shen grew more beautiful but she also grew more important. Her family was being watched, and the dislike of his father had started spreading to the common members of the clan. The stares of the other single women in the clan in particular left an unsettled feeling down his spine.

Things with his father changed as well. He spoke constantly about making the clan stronger about fighting foreign influences, and while Yoshi could agree that maintaining the ancient traditions was good in many aspects… he had learned so much of the outer world, surely it couldn't all be bad. He knew his duty was to help maintain and uphold the clan, but as times changed there had to be a balance of new changes as well.

It had been a mistake expressing those kinds of thoughts to his father.

"He told me that she would get to you… Yoshi how could you fall so thoroughly for her tricks?" His father rasped. Yoshi looked up from his bowing position. Confused a with just a hint of fear trailing down his spine. His father had only recently been talking about a mysterious 'he' who was giving him knowledge but even to Yoshi's limited spiritual senses there seemed to be a heavy ominous feeling hanging around the whole compound.

"Tell me boy," Yoshi flinched, "how does this girl feel about you?"

Yoshi stayed silent, his father wouldn't accept any answer but his own at this point.

"Hn," His father snorted. "I want to you watch her for the next couple of days, and then come tell me: Is she truly more important to you than the clan?"

At this Yoshi looked up in shock, "No father, never! I know my place is with the clan, I just don't understand why you don't think she's part of it?"

"Silence, I've given you my orders now leave." Yoshi stood and bowed but inside he felt sick.

There had always been three important things in his life. The clan, his father, and Shen… And now his father was asking him to choose.

He walked in a daze and kept walking past the concerned… and perhaps cold faces of the clan members. He had to get some air, he had to breathe.

The world passed by faster and faster and then he was in the city. Normal people, living normal lives, he hated them as much as he envied them in that moment. He had to get away.

He wasn't sure how long he ran, but he knew that he would have to stop and go back.

He would prove his father wrong, Shen deserved so much better than she got. He wasn't blind to the stares. He would follow his father's stupid assignment and then he would make things change. He didn't have to choose because Shen was part of the clan and his father and his stupid prejudice could be talked around.

Yoshi had known subconsciously that he had been hiding his father's dislike of Shen, and his and his brother's spying on her for years but honestly he had never doubted the fact that Shen felt nothing but friendship towards him.

He had never looked with his spirit sense before.

He almost wish he hadn't.

She was terrified of both him and his brother.

It happened the next day when they were sparring, one moment she was be focused and excited and the next she would flinch away. It happened next when talking to her and trying to learn more about her likes and dislikes, she evaded. Mostly it happened when both he and his brother were together with her. She was good at hiding it but there was a tightness in her eyes and her hands were always half way into fists.

Yoshi spent the day in shock waiting for her to take it back or for some sort of explanation to appear but then Saki laughed and she flinched, Yoshi found himself flinching with her.

Something clenched in his stomach and suddenly he wanted to be anywhere but in the gardens where the three of them were walking.

"Yoshi?" Shen's voice cut through the haze of discomfort. "Is something wrong?" Her eyes expressed nothing but worry for him. The fear that had been there moments before was gone from her but he could no longer hide from it.

"I'm fine." He mumbled as he started moving away, "I- I need to to go."

"What?" Saki asked his voice confused. "Have you forgotten something?"

"I- Yeah, I-I need to go."

"Yoshi?" Shen called out but he was already stumbling away.

He dropped into a run the moment he could control his feet again and made his way towards the main house. He passed by people that he had known his whole life, ninjas practicing, people going on errands, children playing. Many of them called out greetings but he couldn't focus.

Why was she scared? Was this why his father had asked him to look at her feelings for him? Did his father actually care that much about Yoshi's feelings that he didn't want him to get hurt? How could he ever marry her if she was scared of him? That last thought made his chest tighten and he stumbled to a stop leaning on a nearby tree.

Had that really been his thought? Did he want to marry Shen?

He did. Yoshi wasn't always one for planning ahead but in his plans for the future all he could see was Shen at his side.

He loved her.

His whole body spasmed with pain and joy at the thought.

Intellectually she would make a wonderful clan matriarch, no matter what his father thought. His own mother had died when he was young in one of the many scuffles with the long banished foot clan. It would be nice to have someone there to help lead the clan and give advice.

Yet his father had always said that marriage was an arrangement. A way to ensure that the next generation continued strong. He should have been thinking about the benefits for the clan but something had shifted over the years.

She was beautiful there was no doubt about that… but she was also… Shen. She loved, and fought, and she had ideas and thoughts he never would have dreamed of. He loved her. He had loved her for her for so long. She didn't fit the cold definition of marriage that his father had always insisted on.

As a clan head looking for a potential wife he shouldn't care about feelings she was obviously trying to hide.

As her friend… every time he remembered her flinch something in him broke. Suddenly he didn't care about what the clan needed, it didn't matter so long as she was scared of him.

The thought stunned him.

Nothing should be above the clan in importance.

But she was.

He could never let his father know.

He avoided her for the next two weeks. Saki was wary of his sudden change in attitude but since it meant he got more alone time with her he didn't bring it up. Yoshi determinedly ignored the rising pressure in his chest that increased every time his brother made a casual comment on visiting Shen. Instead he tried to focus on his training, on his ailing father who almost acted like nothing had happened, he even tried focusing on some of the other girls his age around the clan compound. Shen didn't fit his father's mold of clan head wife, he shouldn't be looking at her. But none of the other girls managed to keep his attention for long. They were loyal members and many of them were beautiful and kind, they would make perfect clan matriarchs… but when he tried picturing spending his life with anyone else the girls never managed to block out her image.

For a few days during those weeks he hated her.

How dare she be afraid of him? How dare she serve without thought to others? How dare she spurn him? How dare she reach out to him to try and see what was wrong? How dare she still want to be his friend?

But after two days of red tinting his vision he caught a glimpse of his brother walking away with her and something in him deflated.

He didn't want to hate her.

But he didn't know how to feel. So of course it was the very person he most wanted to avoid that finally cornered him.

"Yoshi, will you please talk to me?" He looked up and found his friend standing near the door.

It wasn't fair that even after weeks of avoiding her one look was enough to make his walls crumble.

"What do you want to talk about?" He finally asked trying to turn his attention back to the sharpening of his knifes but his hands were shaking.

"I'd like to know why one of my best friends just decided to end our friendship." Her voice was steady but there was an undercurrent of hurt that stilled his hands and made his heart clench.

"Are we friends?" Even as she flinched at his words he had to know. He couldn't keep dancing around her unspoken feelings.

"Yoshi… Why, do you feel like that? Did I say something?" Her voice was small and for a moment he was sure that she really didn't know, but then he remembered the way she flinched away, the way she would get quiet when he would say something, the way her words rang false when she talked about her plans for the future and the frustration came back.

"We've been friends since we were little, something changed when we hit our teen years but you still reached out, but now… Shen, are you scared of me?"

Her eyes widened and he watched a struggle fly across her face. That was all he really needed to see. "You are. I'm not sure how you view friendship but I want to my friends to be happy, and you are not happy when you are with me."

"Yoshi, I'm not scared of you-"

"Don't lie!" He couldn't take her words but he hated the way she flinched away. "Please," he added softly, "I'm not sure how I didn't notice earlier, but now that I know I won't force my presence on you. So at least give me the honor of not deceiving me."

He didn't expect his words to make her crumble but it was in that moment that he realized he hadn't seen her face completely open in years, she was stunning in that moment even if her features were full of pain.

"You're right." Her words were whispered and she tried to look at him but the moment their eyes met she looked away, looking not frightened, but ashamed. "I'm sorry, I've been… I haven't been… Yoshi, your friendship means everything to me but you're right, I haven't been completely honest with you and that's something that I know that I need to fix."

Her gaze was heavy when she finally managed to look at him again but his eyes never wavered. He knew he should be angry. But with her his anger just fell away. Even after she basically admitted to him that she had been hiding things all he could feel was strong burst of curiosity and relief. There was a reason, there was a reason she had been afraid of him. Maybe… but no, he wasn't prepared to have his hopes crushed again. But that didn't mean he wouldn't listen.

"Will you… would you go on a walk with me? Outside of the compound?"

Yoshi raised his eyebrows in surprise. But one look at the hope on her face and he got to his feet and started walking.

They walked in silence, both of them steadily ignoring the whisperings and glares of the clan. His father would know about this probably before they even left the gates, but he couldn't bring himself to care… walking side by side with her for the first time in weeks was like dropping his burdens. She had always been like this, but in this moment things were different. She had admitted to keeping secrets, and he had finally admitted to himself that he loved her. It didn't take advanced ninjutsu techniques to know that things were about to change between the two of them.

"If it weren't for my mom, I think I would be completely crazy." Of all the things he had expected her to say as they left the compound that had not been it, but she wasn't done yet she looked straight ahead and kept talking. "I have low levels of anxiety and higher levels of depression but both are manageable with medication. But even medication wouldn't have been able to help me if I didn't have someone to talk to."

He wanted to interrupt he wanted to ask what was wrong but when she glanced at him her eyes were so full of fear, hope, and desperation that he stayed quiet.

"For as long as I can remember I've had dreams. I think I told you about quite a few of them when we were little," She smiled fondly at him, "We used to play benders remember? Fighting against the Fire Nation?"

He had to chuckle at that. "I do remember… those were brilliant games. Your story telling was fantastic."

"That's the thing though, they may have been stories but they weren't my stories. For as long as I can remember I've had dreams… dreams of my past life." Yoshi looked over at her startled but her eyes were downcast all traces of previous playfulness gone. "The Last Airbender was one of many shows that I enjoyed in my past life. There's about twenty-five years worth of stories I could tell you about, and if you still want to be my friend I promise to tell you about every single one of them."

"What?" Yoshi's thoughts were a whirlwind but he couldn't grasp one single question to put forward.

"One of the stories that I enjoyed in my last life featured a man named Hamato Yoshi, his brother Saki, and a girl by the name of Tang Shen." She stopped and took a deep breath before looking at him. "There were things in this story that are far outside of the normal. Things like aliens, alternate dimensions, the resurgence of the foot clan," Yoshi flinched, "If it weren't for my mom, I would have gone crazy worrying about if it was just a coincidence, wondering… if any of it could even be possible. But my mom was able to help me confirm it. Yoshi… I know that it's true. And that's what I've been hiding from you… I know what the future will bring... to an extent."

She didn't stop talking it was like a floodgate opening. She spoke of realizing that her dreams were a past life and the pain that the realization had caused her. She spoke of feeling so out of place sometimes because as much as she loved Japan, the stiff and formal rules of the clan were so very different from the life she remembered. Then she spoke about him… and his brother. She spoke about her fears that she was pushing herself upon them because she knew that in another lifetime a girl named Shen had been apart of their lives and somehow she had taken that girls place. She finally slowed down and she forced herself to look up at him.

"Yoshi, you asked if I was scared of you. The truth is you and Saki have a power and influence that will change this world and yes that terrifies me… but what scares me more is knowing that if we're not careful… if I'm not careful. Saki will betray me, and hurt you."

It seemed like the world froze and Yoshi was vaguely aware of the trees moving as the wind blew past them and into the sky.

"It's not certain," She started again her eyes shining with emotion. "What I know is not set in stone, and it may never come to pass. Everyone is capable of great good and great evil. Saki is my friend and your brother and I would do anything for the two of you. But knowing what an influence you will both have all I want to do is support you… Yoshi, you are my best friend. I knew I was going to have to tell you eventually, but I was scared. I'm still scared but you do deserve the truth and if you still do believe me I'll tell you everything I know… I promise."

They had stopped walking. Standing on a bridge the city behind them and the forest ahead. Water flowed gently and the world kept turning and Yoshi's thoughts seemed to settle into an unnatural calm.

He reached out with his spirit sense. It had taken him years to even get to this low level of proficiency but as always when it came to Shen somehow just being with her made things easier.

She was telling the truth.

At least she believed she was telling the truth.

But did he really have the right to call her crazy?

He trusted her, he knew that he loved her, and the desperate hope in her eyes spoke of a deep need for him to understand. She wanted to tell him for years, he could feel it the very air around her. Now that she had she was both terrified and free in a way that she hadn't been. No wonder she had added the clause about telling him everything only if he still wanted to be her friend. She had always wanted him to be able to choose for himself. And that's what it boiled down to. She had given him the choice.

He wanted to believe her.

"Okay," He finally said startling her out of the silence. "so if there are terrible things coming then what have you been planning in order to stop it?" He wasn't going to think about what she had said about Saki yet. He would worry about that later when she wasn't right there with him making everything so much easier and harder in the same moment.

She looked at him in shock and he watched her on both planes of reality as her whole self lit up. She let out a wet laugh and then threw herself at him. Yoshi caught her in her hug and wrapped his arms carefully around her.

This was going to complicate everything. He had never thought that there would ever be something more important than the clan, and parts of him were still spinning with the implications of what she had said. But in that moment none of it mattered. She was there, he loved her, and they were going to be able to get through it.

"I'll show you everything my mom and I and have been going over." She said into his shoulder and the warm tears that seeped into his shirt only made him pull her in closer.

After several long minutes they finally started making their way back, with her smiling so widely that they got a few odd looks from the random people they passed.

"It's an extremely bizarre story," She said as she reached down and wound her hand into his causing him to startle but she kept talking like it wasn't anything new. "and my mom and I have gone over several different possibilities about how the timeline in the future is going to look like. But I think the first thing you should know is that the main characters in the story are actually our adopted sons."

He stumbled nearly tripping over his own feet. But she kept talking even though he was barely able to make out the words… she had said… 'our adopted sons'. She… they… they were going to get married. Something in him warmed at that and he couldn't stop his eyes from drifting to their clasped hands.

"Yoshi? Yoshi? Are you listening?" He looked up and met her twinkling brown eyes and smiled.

"Sorry, I got distracted, why don't you continue from who our adopted sons are."

She opened her mouth and then closed it a deep blush spreading across her face. "I- I mean- If you- If we- If things play out like they did in the show-" She looked away and tried to pull her hand away but he gently pulled her back. She still didn't look at him. "I always wanted to give you the choice." She finally whispered.

"Shen, you have always been my choice." She looked up surprised but a bright hope glowing in her face and he slowly bent down. He had only admitted to himself recently that he truly loved her but even if he hadn't before the way her smile wavered in disbelieving hope as she tilted her head upward to meet him would have made him fall in love with her all over again.

And then a shout broke the silence. Both of their heads snapped towards the sound. They had almost entered the compound when they had stopped and both of them were trained ninja, they could sense something was wrong as a second cry joined the first.

There were too many lights on for the time of night that it was and far too many people running around. They glanced at each other before running forward into the compound.

Fear saturated the air and Yoshi started to pull ahead in his haste only to stop dead in his tracks Shen nearly barreling into him. Shock spread through him and he heard Shen gasp.

His father stood tall with Saki at his side and Tang Noma with her hands tied behind her back on the ground in front of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written four different times and when I got to today I was ready to give it up as a bad job but I didn't! This is a mix of all four versions and some parts of this chapter may reflect that. However, I really wanted to get this out and to stay on schedule. So here you all have it, a long chapter and the plot finally starts to move forward.


	4. Something Strange

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I'm so late! Real life decided to kick me over and over again for about two weeks straight! Still, I've been plugging slowly away at this chapter and somehow ended up with a lot more action than what was in my original draft. So here you go!

Yoshi was frozen but Shen it seemed was able to recover faster.

"What are you doing? What is going on?" He had never heard her sound so frightened before. But at the same time he didn't need to look to the side to see the fire in her eyes.

"So glad you could join us brother," Saki spat out completely ignoring Shen, Yoshi pulled back in surprise at the venom but the words broke him out of his shock and he met his brother's furious eyes. "Heard any crazy stories lately? Shen seems to be full of them."

Yoshi stared into the eyes of his brother and wanted to reach out. His brother had obviously followed them out of the compound. He must of heard much of what Shen had said.

Too much.

For years their father had been filling their house with slow but persistent comments about the Tang family and like the ocean beating against rocks Shen and her mother had slipped from their status as people and into objects. Yoshi had fallen at times into the same trap, he had known it was there but unlike Saki he had actively tried to integrate himself into the Tang home and there he had found a level of humanity that was almost absent in his own home. As his father had slowly beaten them down spending time with Shen and her Mother was like building up walls. The constant back and forth had forced him to try and form his own opinions and with the memory of Shen's hand in his and the warm eyes of Noma in direct contrast to his Father's ice Yoshi knew where his loyalties lied.

Yet he still flinched at the disappointed stare from his father and the furious anger coming from Saki.

"Saki," Yoshi finally said, "Don't do this you know that they aren't a threat."

It was a ninja in the crowd who called out "She was hiding Yokai in her house!"

Shen at his side stiffened all the way up and her shock washed over him like a wave. He had never believed in demons but with the way that she reacted…

"They aren't demons" Noma Tang's voice was barely audible and Yoshi flinched at the thread of pain that was inside of it.

"There was a break in in the compound, we traced the intruders back to the Tang family house and it was due to this woman's intervention that the Yokai got away." Yuuta's voice was stronger than it had been in months, maybe years, and Yoshi clenched his fist at his side. "Yoshi, here is the proof that we have been looking for, the Tang family has turned against the Hamato clan and we can no longer stand for their treachery."

There was an outcry of agreement and Yoshi felt like the ground beneath him shattered.

The clan was supposed to be the most important thing in this life. He had always been proud of the thought of being able to lead the clan forward after his father passed, but in his time getting closer to Shen he had neglected his duties of placing his claim on the clan of proving his worth to his future followers as he watched the people glance at his father… and more and more at Saki his heart sank.

He'd been a fool.

Confusion, hatred, worry, raw fear, they all washed over him.

Yokai were said to be the bringers of bad luck.

His father stood in front of him, Shen stood behind him, and the clan stood around him. The three most important things in his life all turned against each other. He had just mentally declared his loyalty to Shen but with the clan in open disagreement all around him he couldn't move.

He could barely breathe.

There was something in the air.

No there was something…

Something spiritually dark slinking in and around the clearing.

Before he could focus on whatever the feeling was Shen's voice rang out.

"This is an outrage! Dishonor comes from your actions. Tying up a woman who has had little training in the ninja arts! And what is this story about Yokai?" Shen rarely spoke so formally and it was startling enough that she was able to command attention.

"Stories like about you knowing the future." His father sneered, Shen startled but Yoshi flinched… that, that didn't sound like his father. "Large green demons came and attacked me in my quarters. They attempted to kill me and caused great damage before Saki was able to come and help me drive them off. They fled and we were almost on top of them when this woman blocked our way."

"She was familiar with the monsters and half the clan heard her telling them to run." Saki's eyes shone with anger, betrayal, and just a hint of madness. Something deep inside Yoshi wanted to reach out. He had to make this right show his brother that this was all wrong. But he was frozen.

"All I saw were frightened teenagers," Noma looked up her face hard, "They were running from you."

"When you became a part of the Hamato Clan there were certain expectations of loyalty," Yoshi flinched against his father's voice, "yet tonight has proved that your loyalties do not lie with us." there was a surge of… something and the clan members murmured in anger.

It seemed Noma had… sensed the same thing her eyes widened in fear. "Yuuta-sama, please you must listen to me, those were not Yokai, they mean no harm to us."

Saki let out a harsh laugh cutting her off. "I saw them attacking my father with my own eyes, you're definition of 'no harm' leaves a lot to be desired."

"They wouldn't have…" Shen's words were mumbled and Yoshi doubted anyone but he heard. "They wouldn't have unless there was a reason." He glanced over to see her eyes clouding over in deep thought. Her words trailing off as she fell deeper into her thoughts.

"We've been watching you Tang. My son's have been keeping a close eye on your endeavors and we know that you have been stealing from the clan accounts."

Yoshi stiffened. He had heard no such thing. One look at the utterly confused look on Noma's face was enough to convince him that this was the first she had heard of it either but just at his father's words there was another spiritual burst of… something and one of the clan members called out "Traitor!"

Like a dam breaking the entire clan flared up shouting and snarling. Yoshi hadn't realized until that moment that he had still been half inside his spiritual sense the feedback was nearly debilitating fiery waves of unfounded anger the desire for justice, revenge, and blood.

Shen gasped and Yoshi fell to his knees even as he fell out of the spiritual plane, unable to stay steady in the onslaught.

The world tilted.

His veins burned and the darkness around the clearing didn't seem nearly as repulsing, someone was in the wrong here and his father said it was Noma. Shen could be innocent he could protect her but Noma had to pay… She was to blame. Yoshi stood and started towards his father. His father could explain all this, he would get back into his father's graces and then the clan's and Shen would be by his side and everything would go back to normal.

He was nearly at his father's side barely noticing the black eyes flashing in approval when the only thing that could possibly distract him cried out in sudden shock. Yoshi turned and saw one of the clan ninjas had grabbed Shen and was attempting to tie her up as well. It took her by surprise for only a moment and then her elbow was smashing into the side of his head. She ducked below his counter swipe and hit the ground spinning low and catching the man by surprise knocking his feet out from under him. The man hit the ground with a thud.

Yoshi blinked feeling as though he was looking at the scene from a distance his lips twitched into a smile, he had taught her that.

And then the anger was back like the flip of the switch. Yoshi stiffened as the people around him cried out and surged forward. No matter how good she was there was nothing Shen could do in face of the mob and something snapped inside him when he saw her thrown at his feet with blood coming out of her mouth.

She was a traitor-

She was his best friend-

She had attacked the clan-

She had held his hand-

She would never-

She would always-

She was looking up at him with desperation.

"Yoshi, no matter what happens to me you have to take care of them." Them? A distant part of him wondered but he was drowning and couldn't ask out loud.

Saki crouched down next to her and he reached his hand out and threaded it through her hair. Yoshi watched feeling detached as she leaned away from the touch raw fear breaking across her face and his heart.

"It is obvious that your mother has twisted you, don't worry Shen you will have mercy, you can be helped, just renounce her and come and stay with me. I'll protect you."

Anger… but it felt different from the blackness that was in the air, (there was blackness in the air, remember?) it was red, heat, protectiveness, love, and it burned bright against the flames that were already inside. (they weren't there before)

Don't touch her.

The mob grew angrier.

Shen said no.

Saki's hand turned into a fist.

His father laughed…

But his father's laugh didn't sound like that.

That wasn't his father.

The red shattered the black and suddenly Yoshi could breathe again.

He didn't stop to think, if he stopped the weight of what was happening would crush him.

He wanted to go to Shen but the blackness was deepening again and nothing would get done until it was gone. He turned and lunged at the man who was pretending to be his father, black eyes widened in shock, and Yoshi's fist met the man's face with a crack. The entire clearing shattered, the man's face shifted from his father's wrinkles to a younger smoother face, and all around him clan members stumbled disoriented from whatever spell had been lifted. But Yoshi still didn't stop he was never completely unarmed and there was a kunai in his hand the back end moving towards the imposter's neck, but the man recovered fast.

It wasn't there one moment and then the next there was a metallic bronze staff blocking his knife. Yoshi found himself face to face with the imposter.

His strength slipped as shock flew through his body, the kunai dropped from his loosed fingers and the staff smashed into his face. Something in his nose gave a snapping sound but the pain was distant, secondary in the face of the mirror in front of him.

It had to be a trick a reflection of some kind.

But even as the thought crossed his mind his own face sneered down at him. "Surprised?"

The word brought him out of his shock and he started moving again. Echoing Shen's move from earlier he rebalanced and swept his feet to the side forcing the imposter to jump away. He was vaguely aware of the clan all around him shouting out in anger and confusion. Saki had stood pulling Shen to with him by the hair, Noma was still on the ground but her eyes were focused somewhere to the right of the battle. But the forefront of his focus was on the man in front of him.

He remembered how it was his slip out of the spiritual awareness that he worked so hard to cultivate that had caused him to fall under the imposters spell but it was splitting his concentration badly. Looking at the man was like looking into a blackhole all light seemed to shift around him making it that much harder to hit his target.

Still they danced back and forth, the man's staff was causing him plenty of problems without significant weapons of his own to counter with Yoshi found himself slipping into the defensive.

Somewhere behind him Saki gave out a cry of surprise and Yoshi flinched even as the staff missed his head by a millimeters. He had knifes in both hands now and he slid one down the length of bronze aiming for the fingers clenched tightly around the metal but the man angled the staff away and Yoshi only had a moment to register the smirk before the man's kick connected with his abdomen.

Years of training had him angling away so he could control his fall into a rolled crouch. But the staff was already there. It collided with his ribs painfully and all the breath left him.

The world narrowed and Yoshi struggled to force his lungs to expand.

Shen's voice cried out and he could hear her words pleading out to his brother, begging him to see reason. Something was wrong, couldn't he see, that man wasn't his father, why was he still attacking her?

All around them the clan members circled some fighting each other, some frozen, and the clearing slowly descended back into darkness.

Yoshi finally coughed in a breath just in time for him to be hit again with unforgiving bronze.

His sight spun, and he could feel blood dripping down from his broken nose and with the icy clarity that only comes in a fight, Yoshi knew that he was going to lose.

A blaring blaze of red filled him and somehow he got back to his feet.

While he was going to lose the least he could do would be able to make it so Shen and Noma could escape. The man came at him again and Yoshi grabbed the end of the staff heading towards his face and used the oncoming momentum to spin him into the imposter's side. It was too awkward of an angle to do much damage but damage was no longer his goal.

Continuing forward Yoshi's feet connected with his opponent's shoulder and the man's instinctual push backwards gave Yoshi enough leverage to bend his knees and flip up, away from the man, and down into his brother's fight.

He missed Shen by inches and his last kunai caught his brother's bladed fist. Absently he wondered where the gauntlets had come from. He had never seen them before in his life and there was a half hidden crest on it. While he couldn't see all of it he knew that it wasn't the traditional Hamato lotus. But there was no time to think.

"Shen grab Noma and go." Yoshi commanded using Saki's surprise to his advantage and pushed him away towards the direction of the furious imposter.

The emotional blackness was back in full force and the clan members were back under the spell furious shouts and insults flew through the air and it would only take the slightest push and the Tang family would be overcome by dozens of ninja's in seconds.

This wasn't a battle they could win but hopefully he could distract everyone long enough for the two women to slip away to safety. After that… he wasn't sure what was going to happen. Saki's eyes blazed with fury that spoke of betrayal and hatred, and with the imposter standing just behind him it was like looking into a funhouse mirror of his greatest dreams. Him and Saki with the support of the clan perfectly united. Saki seemed to know who the man was. He wasn't surprised by the change in face and Yoshi's heart twisted in pain.

"Saki, please. I don't know what is going on, but you must surely agree this is madness! Why are we fighting?"

The deep laugh that came from his brother was a bitter mockery of what Yoshi was used to. "Shen is not the only one who knows the future. I was recently confronted not only with the future but with the past as well. My eyes have been opened to your's and father's betrayal. For years I stood in your shadow but now I know what true power looks like."

"Brother, what are you talking about?"

"I am not your brother!" Saki's words stilled something inside of Yoshi and he stared in confusion in the face of his brother's fury. He hoped that Shen and Noma were using the distraction to leave but with his spirit senses still opened he could faintly sense Shen's distress at his brother's words, and the deep sadness coming from Noma… but there was also a sense of expectation. Noma was waiting for something.

"Yuuta stole me from the Foot clan in one of the last battles. He twisted me to his wishes. He strived to make me your guard dog. Well no more! I was raised to be a clan head and I will become one! I will raise the foot clan again in all but name. The clan is loyal to me!" Yoshi felt like his breath had been knocked out again and the smile on the imposter's face only made the whole thing worse. His world was crashing down. "And you Yoshi," Saki spat out, "You will not live to see your precious Shen bear my sons."

With those words the clan members sprung forward and Yoshi screamed in rage as they converged on Shen who stood in front of her mother empty handed but determined. They had managed to get to the side and were backed into a wall but that wouldn't save them, it would only delay the inevitable.

Time slowed down, he tried to reach out and stop the mob heading towards the last thing that he cared about that hadn't been torn from him. He heard a cry of outrage from behind him where the imposter and Saki stood but he didn't turn back around all his focus was on getting to Shen, but it felt like he was moving through water. He watched Shen deflect and disarm the first ninja who had reached her just in time to use her stolen blade to block an incoming knife. Noma's eyes were wide but there was still an almost serene sense of calm around her and he watched as she looked up and then put her arms above her head almost in a sign of surrender.

Yoshi reached the edge of the mob and time sped back up. But he still managed to catch the sight of something grabbing Noma's outstretched hands and pull her up over the roof and out of the way of the incoming ninjas. There were shocked cries, but Yoshi kept on plowing through the sea of black standing between him and Shen. A flip to the right, a trip to the left, deflection of someone who had the awareness to realize that he was behind them and he moved forward. Shen seemed as startled by her mother's disappearance as he was and and the shock cost her. A swing of a wooden tonfa caught her on the back of the head and she stumbled forward on the ground.

He wasn't going to make it.

But someone else did.

There was a swirl of Katana blades in a defensive pattern that Yoshi recognized as one of his own and the mob was forced back, Yoshi took advantage of the movement and he knocked several ninjas out thinning out the barrier between him, Shen, and the mysterious rescuer.

There was a ripple of fear from those in the front of the crowd and a whispered word reached his ears the same time his eyes landed on the figure standing protectively over Shen.

"Yokai…"

Inhuman, green, dangerous, the turtle stood tall and the blades in his hands were a warning. Yet oddly enough the thing that struck him first was the blue eyes that met his. They were warm, expectant, and trusting and then they were gone. Blank white slid down across the blue irises like a blink and the turtle turned the now inhuman white gaze on the mob his blade swiping away the arrow that had been shot at him.

Yoshi's brain had gone silent and he couldn't think, but his original goal was still there, he had to reach Shen.

The turtle fought like a ninja and a powerful one at that. The dual katana blades made for much better defense against the hoard than Shen's single one had and he was obviously using the ninja's fear to his advantage there was a grin the the turtles face coupled with the blank white eyes. Yoshi felt a thrill of fear go down his spine. The turtle opened his mouth and Yoshi braced himself.

"Beware evil doers! For darkness will always fall before the righteous light!"

Yoshi nearly paused at the young dramatic voice and the sudden groans of annoyance that came from the roof and somewhere behind him along with a faint voice yelling. "We were so close to getting through this without you embarrassing us!"

He was almost to Shen and he slid in between a small gap knocking over two ninja in the process. He grabbed the unconscious Shen and pulled her back towards the wall. Trying to get away from the ninja and the Yokai when he stumbled into something that wasn't wall.

"Woah there, I got you." Yoshi scrambled up his arms still around Shen pulling her form to his chest and taking a step back from a second yokai. Familiar brown eyes looked at him from behind a purple mask and Yoshi froze this turtle was much taller, somewhere around his own height.

"Listen, I know you probably want an explanation but for now can you be okay with just knowing we're here to help and that we really need to get out of here now?"

Yoshi continued backing away his mind only just processing the turtles words. The brown eyes widened in sudden shock and he reached behind his back to grab a bo staff Yoshi reached into his pouch to grab another kunai but his hands grasped nothing but air. The turtle spun the bo out of it's holder and onto the ground and used the leverage to fly towards them Yoshi tried to turn away so he could take most of the impact off of Shen only to have the yokai go flying over his head and down onto a ninja that had been sneaking up on them and the first turtle. The bo staff was quickly whirling again as the ninja's got braver in their attempts to move forward and the purple masked turtle turned to the blue one just enough to for yoshi to see that his eyes had disappeared behind a film of white as well.

"Switch me." The second turtle said and the blue turtle jumped forward using the incoming ninja as a springboard to land back next to Yoshi in a move reminiscent of the one he himself had performed just minutes earlier. The blue banded turtle met his eyes mid jump and tossed one of his blades into Yoshi's hands just in time for him to turn and block an incoming blow from the right.

Yoshi was forced to set Shen down as he and the two Yokai battled against the people he had sworn his whole life to protect. Everything was blurring together and still the spirit world screamed in blackness feeding of negativity that had always been there but never forced out. He fought with his back to the wall, with his back to one shell, and then another, and all the while his world shattered.

Finally the crowd of ninja started to thin, the moment Yoshi could breath again he turned and picked up Shen again. The turtle's sword was in the way and he had no straps to hang in on. After a brief struggle with his insticts Shen's prone form made the decision for him and he set the sword down to pick her up. There was something wrong, she should have at least stirred during the fighting but there had been no movement.

"Come on we've got to go." Blue eyes looked back into his and Yoshi stilled as the turtle picked up his sword again.

His spirit sense was still open and he sensed no malice from either of the turtles, if anything the opposite was true. While the imposter had felt like a black hole the turtle in front of him radiated life in a way that he had only seen in one other person.

Shen…

Half his move forward was filled the tentative trust of seeing the turtles spirit reflect that of his best friend, the other half came from the throwing star that was heading for his neck.

Slipping into the instinctual movements of fighting, half of his mind still focused on the turtle, he was able to step forward maneuvering Shen into a bridal carry in his arms and up onto the steepled fingers of the turtle who then proceeded to throw him onto the roof with inhuman strength.

He only had three fingers, his mind commented idly as he landed hard on the shingles.

Shen groaned and her eyes fluttered at the jarring movement but she didn't quite break the barrier of wakefulness.

Noma was nowhere to be seen. But from the view of the roof tops his eyes were drawn immediately to the Tang house bright orange as flames reached towards the sky.

Yoshi's heart caught in his throat but before he could move the blue turtle was up on the roof next to him. He looked over at the fire and swore.

"We don't have much time, we need to get you out of here." But even as he said it he looked over at Yoshi like he was the one who would know what to do. But then the blue eyes widened in distress and he slid down hiding to one side of the roof.

Yoshi opened his mouth to ask what was going on, when a cry of rage turned his attention back towards the clearing. Even though he knew that most of the ninja's were just knocked out something inside him clenched to see so many of his clansman laying on the ground as if they were dead. The imposter was nowhere in sight and wisps from a purple smoke bomb floated almost lazily around Saki's form. Directly below the purple turtle knocked another ninja down and then in a cloud of smoke he too was gone.

Saki's eyes flew around the clearing and then moved upward to land on Yoshi.

"You! You did this!"

"This?" Yoshi asked his temper suddenly flaring past all the confusion and disconnect. "You just declared your wishes to resurrect the Foot clan! You conspired with a man, who was not father, to attack an innocent family! You were going to force Shen to bear your children! How could you do this Saki?"

"The Tang family are traitors! Tang Noma has poisoned your mind and you have allowed Shen to control you rather than the other way around. You are blind Yoshi! Father always liked you better but he trained me the same as you! The clan is mine now, Shen will be mine, and you have nowhere to go."

"This is my home Saki, I will not let you drive me from it." He felt like his chest was collapsing under the weight of his emotions. Saki seemed so much colder than he had ever seen him. There was a madness in his eyes that seemed to twist his face. This couldn't be happening.

"You have no choice." He snarled and Yoshi felt his heart break. Saki pulled out his own throwing knifes and Yoshi felt himself tense. He could block them but with Shen in his arms and the precarious tilt to the roof the only option would be to fall back and hope he could get away.

Something exploded by his feet and purple smoke filled his vision. Large three fingered hands grabbed him and Shen was pulled away from him Yoshi struggled but he was weakened from his previous injuries and he was pulled over the compound wall and into the forest.

"I will find you Yoshi! There is no place you can not hide from me! Shen will be mine." Saki's words made him growl and he was surprised to hear an echoing growl from the yokai who had grabbed him. They were balanced on a rather large tree and the turtle had let him go as soon as they had landed.

"That guy, he's one psycho jerk." This one was banded with red and Yoshi glared over at him.

"He's my brother." Yoshi said his adrenaline still pumping. The turtle gave him a look with startling green eyes which Yoshi ignored. "Where is Shen?

"She's right here." Yoshi turned, keeping his balance, to find the blue eyed turtle holding her while the brown eyed one ran a gentle hand across her head wiping away blood from two long scratches that went from the edge of her face all the way around to parts of her back. They weren't deep cuts and were placed just so that Yoshi hadn't seen them earlier but now that he knew they were there he looked down to find her blood on his hands and clothes.

It looked like everything he cared about had been hurt or destroyed in some way that night.

"Raph, where's-"

"Still with grandma Noma." The red one, Raph, cut off the blue one's words and he looked back over at Yoshi. "Listen, I'm sure this is all very confusing but it's going to be okay."

Yoshi took a deep breath and then moved over to where the purple one was now applying bandages. Sensing his intent the one in blue maneuvered so Yoshi could take his place in holding her steady so the purple one could finish dressing her wounds. Why the yokai would have bandages and where they came from, Yoshi wasn't sure but of all the things that had happened in just a short amount of time overly prepared demons were the least of his worries.

"Where is my father?" Yoshi asked quietly keeping his eyes on the three turtles. He had seen their skills and knew they had strength beyond what he could face in his current state. But he hadn't forgotten Saki's tale of the Yokai attacking his father. And now knowing that the man he saw in the clearing wasn't his father… he had to figure out what was going on.

The boys exchanged worried glances. But before any of them could answer there was an explosion. The tree they all sat in rocked and Yoshi nearly fell unable to catch himself with both hands still clinging to Shen. Light flared from inside the compound and a dusty wind blew past them. The ground shook and Yoshi completely unbalanced started to fall the three turtles were turned towards the compound horror written all over their faces.

"No…" The blue one breathed out "No! Mikey!" He went to jump off the branch but the red turtle managed to grab a hold of him just as the one in purple noticed that he and Shen were falling from his grasp.

"Crap!" He called out as he scrambled to get a hold but Yoshi could already see that the turtle wasn't going to get a hold of them in time. He was at such an odd angle that there was very little he could do. If they fell it was likely Shen would get more hurt. Frantically he pushed Shen towards the turtle who managed to grab hold of her arm and leg and Yoshi twisted trying to mitigate the damage that was sure to come from his fall. A passing branch hit his head and everything went fuzzy.

He slammed into the ground hard on his back. His already injured ribs screamed in pain. Black dots started to fill his vision and his last thought was that Saki would never let him live this down, he had knocked himself out by falling out of a tree. But... then again Saki would never let him live… and his thoughts faded away.


	5. Something Lost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So remember me saying that this chapter would have more exposition in it? I lied. I tried to keep to the truth but the characters were fighting too much and so not only am I a liar but I also am WAY off the weekly update schedule I promised so whoops! Haha! I'm back. I might be posting slightly shorter chapters but now were going to start getting into some more of the fun things!
> 
> Also I made some minor updates to the first four chapters to try and keep the story line flowing correctly, nothing major but it does make a bit more sense now. I'm still trying to figure out the editing system here but I'm still excited!

Noma had never thought she would see the day that Yoshi raised a hand to his father. She never would have encouraged it either until just a few hours earlier, but things had changed so fast. Her future grandsons had shown up and had only had time to pass on the smallest bits of information, and then what had felt like the whole clan had descended on her house trying to hurt the four boys that she had grown so fond of. There hadn’t been any other outcome then her standing in their way. 

Of course that led to the current situation with her tied up and something clearly causing mass delusions in people who she knew for a fact didn’t like her they were also trained ninjas and warriors of any level shouldn’t resort to a mobbed frenzy, they knew better! Or at least they should. Still, in this case she wouldn’t be too picky as it gave the turtles a chance to show her clan members how ninjutsu was really done. 

There were shadows on the rooftops; in places ninjas should know to watch out for, going unnoticed. Green eyes met hers from the dark they deliberately glanced over to a building to her right where another shadow crouched on the roof who risked giving her a wave and a come closer gesture. She tilted her head in acknowledgement and then leaned forward till her head touched the ground. 

The clan was in chaos, vaguely she was aware of her daughter half heartedly fighting off Saki, Yoshi was probably still fighting his father, but Noma didn’t really have time to look, she needed to get out of her ropes. So she pushed her tied up hands as far away from her as possible into the air and trusted the boys that she had only really met once and then had learned about from stories of what could have been. Comics, shows, her daughters memory, they only reinforced what she knew-

Something sharp flew in between her tied wrists and Noma smiled as the ropes fell away. 

-Her grandsons were very good ninjas. 

She didn’t get to her feet right away but looked up just in time to see Yoshi do a rather dramatic backflip through the air in order to land in front of Saki. 

“Shen, grab Noma and go.” Yoshi barked as he pushed his brother backwards to where Noma thought Yuuta would be but instead… 

The staff caught her attention first and a cold chill went down her spine. Fear and adrenaline made details of what she saw that night fuzzy. She had only caught glimpses of his face. She had been reminded of the turtles over and over again as the years had gone by but the figure that had turned her life upside down had been happily left behind to the mists of memory. 

The face of Yoshi had not been what she had expected.

Noma breathed deeply and pushed her fear down. Whoever that person was it couldn’t be Yoshi. Her maybe-son-in-law who adored her cake, who had a secret love of western art, who was conflicted yet so willing to learn, and despite tradition insisted on teaching Shen the family ninjutsu. She did care about him. And she knew that he loved deeply, and with his whole heart. The man who had killed her daughter did not seem capable of the love and loyalty that Yoshi gave away so freely. He wouldn’t do anything to anyone he considered family. 

As if in echo to her own thoughts his voice called out "Saki, please. I don't know what is going on, but you must surely agree this is madness! Why are we fighting?" 

Noma’s heart reached out at the confusion and desperation in his voice she wanted nothing more that to give him a hug and tell him it was going to be okay. She wasn’t sure that she could make that promise though, and if she was ever going to survive this night then she would have to trust in her family. All of them.

Noma got to her feet just as Shen reached her and they made their way backwards towards the building where she had seen her soon to be rescuer. The clan members slowly started turning their attention towards her and her daughter and Noma narrowed her eyes. There were no doubts in her mind that there was some other force at play here. Her bet was on the cursed staff wielder. But Noma knew her own skill sets, she wouldn’t do any good in a battle like this, but if this was the end of her association with the Hamato clan then she knew she still had a few parts to play. 

She had been planning on following her daughter to the states because there was no question that her daughter and her maybe-son-in-law were the people that she cared most about in the world. But she had hoped that the separation wouldn’t be this traumatic. Nonetheless she had a few things to clear out before they fled and she knew her future grandsons would appreciate it if she made sure that the clan didn’t pick up any clues from the issues of TMNT in her home. Displayed prominently with other books because hiding things in plain sight WAS more in her skill set. 

Noma’s back hit the wall and the people she had lived with for the last two decades of her life charged forward in a wave of murderous intent. Shen wasted no time in defending herself and Noma looked up, took another deep breath, reached up, and put her trust in her family. 

Warm hands met hers and Noma found herself standing on the roof a second later. 

“Grandma!” The whisper-shout came with a large green hug and Noma found the breath knocked out of her. But Noma still had enough sense to see the blue-banded Leonardo wink at her before jumping off the roof to presumably help her daughter. 

“Omph, It’s good to see you too Michelangelo, but we really need to go.” 

“She’s right Mikey-” A voice that she assumed was Donatello started to talk but then from below them, above the maddened shouts from her former clansmen, came a shout in English.

"Beware evil doers! For darkness will always fall before the righteous light!"

The orange-banded turtle let go of her with a loud groan and Noma glanced behind her in time to see Donatello smack his forehead. 

“I better get down there and help,” He said with a sigh, but Noma could detect a strong hint of fondness in his expression. “Grandm-, I mean Miss Tang-”

“Call me grandma.” 

“Okay Grandma,” There was a gap in his smile and Noma found herself smiling back even in the dark seriousness of the moment. “Mikey knows where we’re going to meet but we figured you would know best of what to do. We’ll take care of your daughter, Good luck!”

And with that he jumped down to join her daughter, Yoshi and Leonardo against the mob. 

“Come on we need to get to my house.” Noma said and the bright blue eyes looked at her with the utmost seriousness. 

Everything was moving far to fast for Noma to truly feel comfortable with but she could only focus on what was in front of her. She had promised herself that she would never be made helpless by her own emotions and she wasn’t about to let the furious beating of her heart stop her now. 

The compound really wasn’t that large but it still surprised her how fast Michelangelo managed to carry her there. There really was no time for stealth though and they burst in quickly.

“I’m going to grab my emergency bag, in the kitchen cabinet you will find a bag of flour and next to it is a bottle that says vinegar on it spread the contents all over the living room and don’t miss the bookshelves.”

“Ha! I knew arson ran in the family!” Noma was already turning into her room but his words followed her in a hysterical giggle escaped her lips. 

Oh heavens what was she doing? 

But no she didn’t have time to panic yet. 

Later she would mourn and rage and scream, but now she had a job to do. 

Her daughter’s school bag held her husband’s briefcase, left behind just like her, but was filled mostly with forged identification papers, passports, and emergency credit cards hidden between some beloved photos, and finally the knife that had formerly been under her pillow and she was back out the door just in time to hear Mikey yelp and see a flare of orange light. 

“Holy chalupa! That went up fast! Come on grandma we have to meet up the with others I think they might freak out if they see your house on fire without an explanation.” 

Noma didn’t even have time to nod her head before she was grabbed and dragged out of the burning home, dry wood and paper going up fast. 

Her shock was deepening and things were getting harder to focus on now that she knew her ‘part’ was done, but she wouldn’t be able to relax until Shen was back in her sights. 

“... help…” 

She almost wrote the sound off as a figment of her imagination but when Michelangelo paused as well Noma felt her head turn. There, leaning beside her burning home, was Hamato Yuuta.

Noma stiffened and she felt the turtle next to her freeze completely. But it was the blood still running down the old man’s face that made her move forward again. 

Yuuta had never liked her. Hidden behind politeness and tradition there had been a silent animosity about him that had always put her on edge. For years she had seen the way that he had raised his sons and thrown them around the dojo, never quite letting go of his Sensei persona even when his sons were hurting. Noma had stepped in many times and she knew that he knew what was going on but there was no counter action. Until tonight anyways, still, what she had thought had been Yuuta’s actions had been an illusion of her worst nightmare. 

Mindful of the heat that was becoming more intense she knelt down next to her clan head and pulled him up as best she could. 

The cut on his head was probably less serious than it looked but the frailness in his arms and hands couldn’t be ignored. 

“Michelangelo help me.” Noma pleaded. 

Even though he acted quickly Noma could feel her skin tightening in protest to their proximity to her home. So despite her worries she pulled the man up as quickly as she could and the three of them limped away from the house. Yuuta was much taller than either of them but she still managed to catch Michelangelo’s eye only to be met with frightened bewilderment that left her heart breaking anew. 

He was still so young. 

For years she had listened as her daughter told stories of the things she remembered about her previous childhood’s cartoon characters. And then she and Shen had started reading the comics together and once the 1987 cartoon came out they had found ways to watch that too. 

But this wasn’t the Michelangelo from the comics or from the show. None of them would be the same as what would have been. From the moment they’d had experiences beyond what those her daughter had ‘known’ they had become their own people. That fact had been something she had tried to tell herself over and over again and with those overburdened eyes staring at her it finally sank in. 

This was an overwhelmed teenager. This was her future grandson. Even if her heart didn’t quite have the full bond she had already chosen him to be a part of her family. She was going to do anything to protect him. 

“I’m afraid I owe you an apology.” Yuuta’s words broke Noma from her thoughts and she almost stumbled only managing to stay up by the grace of Michelangelo’s strength. 

“Your husband was a good man. I was unsure of his choice in your marriage due to your heritage. I did not know that Sliver had ordered his death behind my back until today.” 

Noma stiffened her heart pounding in her chest. 

“No way? He killed grandpa?” Michelangelo’s words barely registered neither did the fact that they had gotten far enough away from the house for Yuuta to pull away and lean against her favorite cherry tree. 

“Because I was unsure that one from China would be able to be a loyal member of the clan when Sliver came to me it was easy to believe his words about you and your daughter.”

The moon was just rising over the treetops and she could see it shine through the branches that she had known her entire married life. 

“Looking back it is easy to see his manipulations but I was blind and I… was unhappy with the ideas that you were putting in my son’s heads. I’m not sure how much of it was my own feelings and how much was his influence.”

The cherry tree had been so small when she first moved into the compound. 

“So I put your husband on more and more assignments outside of the compound, I sowed the seeds of distrust for you, all the while thinking I was taking my power back when really I was just losing it one day at a time to Sliver.”

She had wondered why her husband had seemed so distant at times. But… she hadn’t questioned it she hadn’t fought for him to stay. He had made her a tart from the fruit of the tree for their fifth wedding anniversary and what had she done in return?

“How long has he been here?” Michelangelo’s question felt far away. 

“Nearly fifteen years.” An achingly familiar yet cold and furious voice answered. 

Noma’s head snapped up to see Yoshi walking towards them bronze staff in hand.

“First you steal my face and now you take his.” Yuuta’s voice had gone very hard and Noma heard the faint rattling of chains as Michelangelo readied his nunchaku.

“Think what you want old man. Your time is short, I’m just here to tie up some loose ends.” The man’s gaze was locked firmly on Noma and her heart jumped up in her chest but then his eyes slid over to her orange-banded grandson and it nearly stopped. “Fifteen years in the same place and you never found me. I really was hoping for more improvement from this alternate timeline but nothing has changed from the weaklings I knew you were.”

“We found you now and that’s enough.” Michelangelo said his voice hard.

“Not even close, the battle is over for you and your brothers.”

“Well I haven’t faded out of existence yet so I say that things are still looking good for team turtle.”

The man snarled and then he jumped towards them his staff pulled back. Michelangelo dashed forward to meet him and the staff met the end of his chains briefly.

Noma lurched forward not knowing what she was going to do but the only thought she could think was that he was too young for this… she didn’t want to think about him facing a man who had slowly led her to this point when her life was falling apart. She didn’t even know where Shen was right then. What about Yoshi? Had the man bested him? Was everyone else dead?

Before she could even get in a full two steps there was a hand on her sleeve. “No, you must get out of here.”

“He needs help,” Noma whispered. She didn’t want to listen to him. “I have to help.”

“No you need to get out of here, find our children. Only today did I know of his treachery but I’ve had my suspicions that my illness was not an accident and that when they failed to kill me through poison they would come for me. I’ve made my preparations.” 

Noma stared uncomprehendingly at the blinking device in Yuuta’s hands. The shadows cast from the moon and her cherry tree danced along the bomb and his face. He had just admitted to purposely hurting her marriage and turning the clan against her. Those revelations had stung with betrayal even if there had been a part of her that had suspected that her distance from the clan was his fault. For all of that this was the most shocking moment of the night, she would never have guessed that the traditional, noble leader of the last great ninja clan would choose to go out in such a way. 

And yet… he had apologized… he believed that his honor, his power had been taken from him. 

Perhaps it was in character with the man she thought she knew. 

His arms were thin, blood still caked his face, there were tremors running through his body, but there was fire in his eyes and his steps were firm as he moved away from the tree. 

“Run Tang Noma, tell my son that I approve of his choice.”

Noma took a trembling step backwards, her bag catching on a low hanging branch causing her to jump even as the old patriarch gained speed as he ran towards the fight. 

The man’s back was to the cherry tree but Michelangelo was able to see the incoming figure. Noma saw the boy’s eyes widen as he jumped away as fast as he could in his haste the Yoshi lookalike slammed his staff into the plastron and the cry of pain pushed Noma into action again as she ran forward towards the orange banded ninja. 

There was a cut on the side of the boy’s neck and there were bruises along his arms and legs that hadn’t been there minutes ago but there was no time to look him over.

There was a scream of rage and Noma heard the two men shout even as she and her grandson stumbled up and started running away. 

There was a growing light behind them and Noma wondered where such a dangerous device had even come from just as a wave of sound and heat hit the two of them. 

The ground shook, and after the initial burst all Noma could hear was the ringing in her ears, she had been blown forward and her vision swum. But there was a three fingered hand still in hers and so she got back up. 

Michelangelo was trying to say something to her but she just shook her head and held on tighter hoping he would get the message. He seemed worried but he pulled her further into the forest past the clan walls and away from her cherry tree.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So let me know what you think so far. I've got plans, I'm not sure I'll be able to keep up a weekly update schedule but I will be doing my best to at least to every two weeks. (But I do have real life to attend to so I'll try and let you know if anything has come up.)
> 
> So I hope you are all having a wonderful beginning of 2018 and I hope you're all excited for the next generation of turtles coming out soon because I am!


	6. Something Gained

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been working on this for several weeks now and I'm actually really happy with the final product. This chapter really touches on what I've been trying to build as Yoshi's internal character. In the show (and I will fully blame the writers for this) Yoshi was often time distant when dealing with his sons. I tried to show where some of that would come from in the form of the way his own father reacted. I also have spent the last few chapters building up to this fall out so I wanted to make sure I got in all the stages of grief.

Sound faded in and out. Bit's and pieces of conversations, voices that were maybe familiar but felt like a whole lifetime away.

"-we can't just leave them here!"

"What else can we do? The longer we stay the more likely he will show back up and we're in no condition to fight him right now."

Pain, itching, the sensation of slowly healing skin and bones.

"Why didn't mom tell us about this?"

"Maybe she didn't know…"

Darkness, the sensation of running, screamed words of fear, and then a long period of silence.

"Why aren't they waking up?"

"He didn't fight fair. He attacked them on the psychic field and neither of them have those sorts of mental abilities yet. They're both drained. I'm actually surprised dad stayed conscious as long as he did."

The words faded away and slowly a sense of self started to come back.

"I'm so sorry we can't stay."

"It's okay we would never have made it out of the compound without all of your help."

"Just one more should-be-impossible time-loop." A voice sighed out resignation and worry colored his tone.

The words stirred up something inside… a memory or a thought to fleeting to grasp.

"We really do need to go… if we don't… well things will start falling apart pretty fast. Still I'm sorry we have to leave all this on you grandma."

"Don't be. There… there will be a time when I will see you again, until then take care of eachother."

"Always grandma, and be safe."

There was a sound unlike anything Yoshi had ever heard before almost a rip and a crashing wave at the same moment and then… an absence. He struggled and fought and finally won the battle against the darkness and managed to open his eyes.

It looked like he was in a generic hotel room, white walls and traditional art on the walls above him. But… this wasn't where he was supposed to be… He was sure of it. Something had happened.

Black and red, a broken mirror, Shen's blood on his hands, Saki screaming, an explosion, his own clan turned against him. Yoshi shuddered and sat up.

His body ached but worse was his mind. The world seemed to bright, and too deep all at once.

"Yoshi, you're awake." He knew that voice better than to be put on guard so he didn't jump but the relief in her eyes scared him in a way that seeing her never had before.

She had been tied up.

And with that everything came rushing back.

Yoshi stiffened and sat up ignoring the pain.

There was only three things that mattered…

"Where is Shen?" He forced the question out of his tightening throat. It couldn't have… it was just a dream. And yet… He hurt like he had been in a fight. He wasn't at his home or even on the couch in the Tang household.

"She's still asleep but I think she'll wake up soon." Noma moved into the room cautiously like she was approaching a wild animal. "Yoshi, what do your remember?"

"Everything… but I do not understand. Why would Saki…"

"I am not your brother!"

"Is what he said true? Is Saki not my blood brother?"

Noma hesitated obviously not expecting the question but there was a knowing in her pause that had Yoshi's fists clenching.

"Yoshi… I'm sorry."

He shook his head frustration building up… it shouldn't have meant anything. Saki was his brother, always had been, but for some reason it mattered enough to Saki for the information to turn his brother against him… against the whole clan! But if the clan was behind Saki then… then was Saki really turning against them?

Yoshi shied away from the thought and tried to focus on something else.

"What about that man, he looked like me, but he wanted to hurt you and Shen, why?"

Noma hesitated again. "I don't know the whole story-"

But Yoshi cut her off a sudden thought striking him.

"He was disguised as my father… my father, where is he?"

And this time her hesitation was like a blow to his already injured side. He couldn't breathe.

She reached out, "Yoshi… I'm so sorry, he-"

"No," He cut her off pulling away from her hand, "No you are wrong."

"He saved me and Mi-" She paused a conflicted look on her face and Yoshi abruptly felt angry.

"You and your what? What could possibly be more important than the life of my father he's the only person who could possibly get Saki to snap out of whatever insanity he's fallen into and now you're trying to tell me what? That he can't?"

He roughly pushed away the covers off of his bed and stood up. The pain was secondary and he needed to get out of the little white room that wasn't a part of the clan complex. He needed to go find his father.

"Yoshi, wait." Noma had been the closest thing he'd had to a mother growing up but his father… but his father was his whole life. His father and his clan… and Shen.

He pushed into the next room and paused at the sight of her. She stood leaning on the wall of the small kitchen/sitting room her eyes were open and sad but the moment she caught sight of him she reached out.

Going to her was ingrained in him somewhere and he pulled her into his arms.

Saki was his brother… but he had always looked at Shen and Noma in ways that Yoshi couldn't understand. There had always been two forces of learning in his life and Shen had been the center of so much of what he had learned to actually love. The clan was his great duty Ninjutsu was his calling, but Shen had shown him that there was always room to find out more in life to grow and experience the things that were in the world around him. He had wanted to share the joy that she brought him with every single member of the Hamato clan.

But that was no longer an option was it?

She trembled in his arms but didn't say anything. Her arms wrapped around him like she was the one holding him up rather than the other way around and Yoshi sighed into her hair.

"Yoshi… I'm so sorry." The words echoed her mother's and he couldn't help but stiffen.

"Saki hates me…"

Shen let out a sigh of pain. "I had hoped… All those years I had hoped that if I could just be a better friend. If I could say the right thing that he wouldn't... " She trailed off but it took a few moments for her words to sink in. When they did Yoshi stilled.

She had said back on the bridge facing the city that she knew of the future… that she knew the shape and the flow of fate. But that would mean…

"Shen, did you know?" He asked unable to pull away in his frozen state but also no longer able to look at her.

"Know what?"

"Did you know that Saki was not my brother… that he would try to kill me?"

She pulled back and tried to peer into his face but he couldn't meet her eyes and kept his gaze fixed on the wall above her head. "On the bridge, I told you."

"You told me he would betray you, but you didn't mention him betraying me."

"I hoped… I hoped that it would never come to this. I had hoped that if he did figure things out that you two would still be able to be brothers. That if he ever showed signs of serious distress I could just leave and you could avoid this."

Why would her leaving stop things? But if she thought it would help then why didn't she leave in the first place? Something inside of him clenched at the thought of her leaving. But she knew how much the clan meant to him. How could she not? She, more than anyone else knew about what he and his brother had to go through mentally, physically and spiritually to become even close to what their father expected of them as clan heirs. To even think that she didn't understand what it meant that his brother had taken over the clan and cast him out was impossible to imagine.

"Did you know that this was going to happen? That the my father was going to die? That the clan was going to betray me for Saki?" His voice steadily got louder and Shen stepped back from him looking up into his face with the most bemused expression that only made his anger grow.

"No Yoshi! How could I know? I have a vague idea of what's coming but I thought…"

"You thought what? That you could control the outcome! You already said that you knew that Saki could hurt me! What about my family? The clan? Did you never think about them and how that was going to work for them? My clan was brainwashed and you don't seem to care!"

"Yoshi please don't shout at my daughter it's not her fault." Noma's voice was supposed to have a calming effect but Yoshi could only feel fury.

"Then whose fault is it? All my life I've always done what's best for the clan and now they are out of my reach? And what about my father? Saki said those Yokai attacked him!"

"It was not the turtles fault," Shen said her voice suddenly hard. "They saved our lives."

"Then why couldn't they save him?!" Yoshi burst, the words blacked the very air around him and something cracked inside.

"There were other factors besides the turtles at play," Noma started sternly as she moved to come closer to her daughter. "I watched that man attack us and your father defended, will you dishonor his sacrifice by blaming those he gave his life for?"

"He shouldn't have had to give his life because you knew this was coming!" His breathing was heavy and his world was slipping into a red and black haze Shen was shaking her head in denial and Noma looked upset but they didn't have any right to be angry with him. This was all their fault.

"Yoshi, I'm not omniscient! You have to believe me I never knew this was coming."

"Liar!" Her eyes widened and her own fists clenched in response. Shen was proficient at fighting but she was slow to anger but quick to defend it was the way her teeth clenched that finally clued him in to the fact that she really was upset with everything that had happened as well.

She took a deep breath trying to calm down whie Noma at her side frowned. "When have we ever lied to you?"

"How about my whole life?" Yoshi sneered. "My father warned me over and over again that you were keeping something from us and now your secrets have blown up in our faces!"

"We never lied to you." Shen said even as Noma opened her mouth her words barely even a beat behind her daughter's.

"And your father wasn't keeping his own secrets then?" Her voice was cold and there was an undercurrent of hurt in it that Yoshi had never heard before but he barely registered it as his anger flared at her implied meaning.

"How dare-"

"Mom that's not fair-"

"He told me just before he died that he's been purposefully turning the clan against us for years." Noma spat out her voice cold and hurt. "You just said he warned you against us, but what were we supposed to do? Go to the people who obviously didn't trust us, the people who were in fact actively shunning us? What did we do to deserve the hatred of the people who should have been our friends?"

It was a question he had asked himself many times and something he had worried about, but with the fury roaring inside of him and his life shattered at his feet he was too far gone to care.

"Your silence led to his death I think he had every right to distrust you."

"Yoshi, that's not fair either-"

"Stop talking about being 'fair' you know life isn't like that, because if life were fair you would have stopped this from happening!"

She flinched back but now there was returning anger in her eyes, "Stopped what Yoshi? Stopped your father from corrupting his own clan?"

"You have no right!" He shouted but she moved forward into his face her eyes hard and she continued.

"Stopped Saki from figuring out a secret that had been kept from him his entire life by his own family? Heavens Yoshi, how did you expect him to react? He's been told his entire life that the Foot clan were monsters, never mind that it takes two sides to make a blood feud, and then he finds out that not only is he a child of the Foot but that he never had a claim to that Heirship that means so much to you!"

"I didn't know either! He's still my brother, and maybe he wouldn't have reacted so badly if you hadn't implied that he was going to be a monster!" Shen looked confused for a split second and Yoshi took the opportunity to lean in closer forcing her to back off. "That's right, he heard what you said in the woods. You essentially turned him against me."

Noma had paled at his words but Shen just looked furious. "Am I your brother's keeper?" She snarled in english before switching back into Japanese. "I have no more control over your brother than I do the future. Honestly Yoshi, I thought you were smarter than this."

"We need to calm down," Noma said abruptly, "We need to figure this out, Shen what did you say that Saki could have overheard?"

But Yoshi could barely hear her anymore there was just Shen in front of him. She was angry but he was stinging with her betrayal. "Sorry to disappoint, but I can't say the same for you. You've proven you're smart enough to destroy an entire noble clan in one night."

"Oh, it was falling apart long before I got to it! The last of it's kind, the world is heading into the twenty-first century and your clan has been stagnating in outdated traditions. It would have fallen even without me."

There was blood rushing in his ears and all he could see was her face in front of him. His father, was dead, his clan had been stolen from him, and it was all her fault!

She moved her arm up to defend herself but his fist still caught her off guard enough that she stumbled backwards away from him and then to the floor as she tripped over the rug. Noma let out a cry of shock and Shen let out a cry of pain as her old injuries protested at the sudden movement. He froze at the sound and he felt his emotions sink into horror.

The blood was still pounding in his ears but suddenly all he could see was her passed out form in his arms as he had stood in the trees with the three turtles.

She had been bleeding.

She had been injured by the very brother that his heart was missing.

Noma knelt down by her daughter and helped her sit up. Shen looked up and met his eyes and Yoshi felt his breath leave his body.

It had nearly torn his world apart when he had realized that there was a fear in her that was centered around him and his brother. But he had never seen it on her face before. Now that he had he could honestly say he never wanted to again.

He looked down at his own fist. His thoughts were still swirling, and the two women in front of him were still wrong, but they were also the some of the most important people in his life.

Even now after everything that had… even now he didn't want to hurt them.

So he turned around and ran.

He ignored Noma's voice behind him and fled.

\--o0o--

She found him hours later as the sun was setting. He wasn't entirely sure where they were anymore but it wasn't anywhere near the city of Tokyo. Some part of him distantly noted that of course they would have fled away from a city that would have been familiar to Saki but most of him just ached for some familiarity. He hated feeling so helpless. He hated feeling so powerless. It wasn't that he hadn't felt this way before. There had been so many times when he had fallen short of his father's expectations, of Saki's skills, of his own desires but looking back his instinctive response was to go to the Tang house. To go find Shen and Noma and relax inside of their house and listen to their laughter.

That didn't feel like an option anymore.

And that was his fault, they had probably saved his life by getting him out of the compound. He wasn't sure what had happened to the the turtles that had fought alongside them but the more Yoshi went over the fight in his head the more curious he got. They had known his fighting style inside and out. He hadn't been able to focus in the moment too distracted by trying not to drown under the implications of what was happening, but looking back on the fight with the blue and purple ones the two of them had fought beside him like only Shen and Saki had previously been able to. Something about them had triggered some instinct inside of him. He had trusted them with his back.

It was an odd reaction to have to beings that were supposed to be bad luck.

But they had been so insistent on protecting Shen and Yoshi had been low on options.

Still, somehow the turtles had gotten them out of the compound and Noma must have taken care of him and Shen while they were unconscious.

In any other situation if he was asked to choose who he would like to spend time with out of the families in the clan he would have named the Tang women in a heartbeat. They had always been there for him, always welcoming, and surprisingly resourceful for a family who was supposed to stick to the financial side of the clans business.

They were good people.

Which was why it hurt so much to think about the secrets they had kept from him.

The worst part was that even now, while he was struggling to make sense of what had happened he would sacrifice himself for them. They were family… apparently the only family he had left.

It was of course not long after he had come to that revelation that Shen found him on the roof of the hotel they were staying at. She walked up with deliberately loud steps so as to not startle him and Yoshi felt a pang of self loathing go through him. He deserved her caution.

He was therefore surprised when joined him on the edge of the building, sitting far closer than he would have expected her to. She wasn't touching him but if he had wanted to it would be easy to reach out to her.

She broke the silence first but she kept her eyes looking forward and he found that he couldn't quite bring himself to look away from the sunset either.

"I thought we would have more time." She finally whispered. "I thought that we were going to have a daughter before Saki started to become unstable."

There was a moment of silence and Yoshi felt his chest clench painfully. A daughter? A family?

"In the timeline that I thought I knew nothing happened until after Shen and Yoshi were married."

He wasn't sure how he felt about her speaking about both of them in such a distant voice, like it wasn't their lives that they were being forced through but there was pain in that voice that stilled any frustrated reactions he could have.

"I still don't how Saki found out about his heritage, but I truly thought that after I had the chance to tell you everything that we would be able to figure out the best way to break the news to Saki. I never wanted to deceive or lie to you but I was a coward, I was so scared of the rejection and the idea of making things worse. But because I didn't tell you sooner that man somehow changed things."

She sighed and looked away from the sunset but also away from him. "You were right. It's my fault that everything fell apart around you. If you want to leave I won't blame you."

There was silence again and Yoshi looked over at her and even though he couldn't see her face he knew that she was hiding tears from him. "I'm sorry." He finally said and was gratified when she turned her head around to look at him. "I'm sorry that any of this happened, but I know that I'm not the only one hurting from this. You lost your home too. Even though I knew that in my head, I was angry… I still am." He slowly raised his hand and made sure that she could see as he reached over to her arm where she had blocked his instinctual blow. "But I never should have raised my hand to you. For that I am truly sorry."

She looked up at him even as his hand slowly covered over the reddened skin and her lips quirked up in a self deprecating grimace. "I won't lie and say that it's okay. You were always the one who said a warriors greatest tool was their self restraint, but I will acknowledge that I didn't handle the situation much better myself."

He looked away unable to meet her eyes. But then she continued quietly. "But if you want I'm willing to work through this with you."

Yoshi took a deep breath but he nodded feeling both relieved and more guilty at the same time. A part of him wanted to believe that some part of him was just confident in her ability to block his blows but mostly he just remembered feeling such anger that he could only compare the feeling to when Saki's teasing would cross the line into borderline cruelty and he had fought back in the only way he knew how.

It was only when he realized how close he had come to doing actual harm that he wondered if there was a better way to channel his anger.

Still, that was just one of the many thoughts and things going on in his mind. He was grateful that Shen was willing to give him another chance but even that was complicated with his still raw feelings of betrayal. There was still so much wrong in his world but it seemed like they were the only ones with answers.

Echoing his thoughts Shen gave his hand a gentle squeeze brining his attention back to her. "If you're still willing to stick around then we'll figure things out and in the meantime I'll tell you everything."

He nodded. "I would like to know more about what you know and why it made you think you had to hide it from me."

"I think I already mentioned that the whole thing sounds crazy." She said dryly.

"I just saw a man change his face, brainwash my clan into attacking you, and then we were saved by a group of Yokai." he deadpanned and despite the tension that still hung between them his words did bring a smile to her face.

"Well things get a bit more complicated than that." She said as she stood up and brushed off her pants before offering a hand to him. He didn't need her help standing up and they both knew it but he reached out anyways and they walked back into the hotel.

\--o0o--

Facing Noma again was both easier and harder than facing Shen but on seeing him walk back in she had smiled at him and had pulled the kettle off the stove to fill the tea cups on the table.

They told their tale like Noma had lived it. Starting the night that the face stealer had broken into their home and sucked the soul of the original Tang Shen away from this life. Yoshi wasn't sure how to feel about it and the hidden guilt in Shen's eyes made him wonder how long she had been holding onto the self blame. Knowing her she had been feeling guilty from the moment she found out.

There wasn't really time to talk to her about it though as Noma kept talking. Hearing her describe the budding english and other skills that should have been taught rather than manifested made Yoshi chuckle even if it was just briefly. So many times he and Saki had been jealous of Shen's easy grasp of math and logic and they had speculated on how she had gotten so smart. It was safe to say they never had even come close to guessing correctly.

Then came the point when Shen remembered the memories from her past life. Shen spoke quietly about her death but Yoshi found his fists clenched tightly as she talked about finally realizing that the dreams she had been having for as long as she could remember were the echoes of the girl she once had been. He had heard her tell more in depth of her past life while on the bridge but now… now he could see the loss that was in her eyes.

Maybe it was only now that his home was lost to him that he could see the reflection of his pain on her face.

By then it was late and they had an early flight in the morning that Noma had prepared and while normally Yoshi would have been fine his body was abnormally tired even for the injuries he had received.

Yoshi didn't have the energy to think when his head hit the pillow but his dreams were full of fire, purple smoke, angry people, and his father's distant face.

The story continued in bursts as the next day went on. They were on the run and that meant trying to be discrete and telling stories about aliens was anything but that.

They had just landed down in the dongJin airport when Shen finally started talking about the show their lives were apparently based on.

He wasn't sure what to think when she started the story with him having fled Japan to go to America, but when she mentioned him going to a store to get four pet turtles his eyes narrowed. She had mentioned Aliens briefly before but the faint dread mostly covered by disbelief was what finally broke him.

"I get turned into a rat?"

Several people in the airport turned to look at him but he ignored it and continued staring wide eyed at Shen who gave him a sheepish smile in return.

"Well, in this dimension of the turtle-verse, yes. In the original comics and a few of the cartoons you just owned a rat who learned ninjutsu from watching you."

He wasn't sure what his face looked like but it must have been ridiculous enough to make her stifle a giggle. "Don't worry that's not our universe, but the concept was always based on a rat, going by the name of master Splinter, who raised four turtles in the sewers."

"The Yokai… You're saying that they are our adopted sons?"

"Well I mean, the Tang Shen of any turtle verse is usually dead long before they get mutated…" While this wasn't new information it still stung though the way she looked down and started blushing showed she wasn't thinking about her supposed demise. Even Noma who was standing on the other side of her daughter had a little grin on her face and Yoshi just felt confused. "Well I mean, I knew that I liked you, but you know that doesn't necessarily mean that I expect you to want to raise a family with me, and I mean your counterpart did a great job raising them the first time and while I would love- I mean like to have a family with you, I get that it might feel awkward-" She abruptly cut off and looked away. "I'm going to stop talking now."

He had never seen so flustered and it took a moment for his brain to catch up from her theoretical death to what she was implying. When it did finally click she was already walking away quickly and Yoshi was left to stare after her retreating form.

Had she just… proposed to him? Or had he proposed to her by asking about their family?

Noma looked over at him with a nostalgic smile on her face. "She told me she loved you long before she fully remembered her last life. But she's always been so insistent on any relationship being your choice, always so worried that she was going to take away your agency. Letting you know her story really has made her so happy."

Yoshi felt his face burn and he picked up his pace as well. He absolutely wasn't ready to think about the fact that Shen had been harboring feelings for him. But even as they made their way out of the airport he couldn't help but feel lighter.

The following days were composed primarily of traveling and learning. Noma had only one copy of the TMNT Comic saved from when she had purposefully set her own house on fire. Shen had gaped at her mother when that part of the story finally got told while Noma had just fixed a perfectly serene smile on her face that had Yoshi scooting away.

Tentatively their plans were to make their way to New York and try and find the O'Neil family and set up a base of operations while they tried to figure out what Saki's next move was going to be, keep their eyes open for the face stealer, and prepare for an alien invasion.

Oh and try and figure out which baby turtles out of thousands sold in pet stores all over the island of Manhattan were THE turtles that were destined to be the Yokai that saved their lives.

Most days none of it felt real.

Noma, had a planned course set to confuse their trail that involved visiting many crowd and tourist heavy areas where they would switch identities multiple times in and out of cities. Yoshi followed more often than not feeling disconnected.

There were moments where Yoshi would catch himself thinking about what to write to his father for his mission update. But he wasn't on a mission. Or perhaps which of the places he had a chance to see that he would brag about to Saki later. But Saki never wanted to see him again. The worst moments though were when he would see something that his mind would latch onto as a practice he could implement or use to help the clan.

His father, was dead.

Noma had told him that his father approved of his choice… but would he still approve if he had known the whole story?

His brother hated him.

The hatred in Saki's voice followed him constantly in his dreams. They were brothers, and while there were times that things were tense between them, shouldn't that title mean something?

The clan though, he wasn't sure he was ready to give up on.

Noma and Shen were correct in saying that the clan did not like them. But Yoshi had grown up around them, he knew there were honorable warriors inside the clan, there were people who were experts in their chosen fields, they had some of the most powerful connections in Japan. Surely there was some way he could open their eyes to the spell that had been cast on them by the man with the staff.

He knew it would be dangerous if he tried to contact that clan while he was traveling with the Tang family but he wasn't willing to leave Shen's company just yet. His anger towards her had thawed out as he learned more about what she knew and what she didn't know and there would always be a part of him that sought out her presence but on the matter of his clan his mind was split.

If only his father had known about this possible future, he would have been more trusting of Shen and her mother, and together they could form the clan to help them fight off the threats that were coming to earth.

But for some reason, it was clear through both Noma and Shen's words they were convinced that keeping things a secret from the clan as a whole had been for the best.

He wasn't sure how he felt about it. But there were moments where he wondered if he would trade their company in the moment for a restoration of all that had been lost to him.

He didn't know the answer to that question and that was the biggest reason he hadn't tried contacting the clan yet.

The decision was taken out of his hands just as they were preparing to leave Hong Kong to the Philippines.

Shen knew him well enough that she seemed to sense his inner conflict. They would often talk late into the night. It wasn't always about important things, like what the crazy future was going to hold. Most of the time it was just reminiscing. Those were painful sessions but Yoshi always slept better on the nights after they had talked.

It was on one of their strolls through the crowded streets that once again everything crashed back down.

Yoshi sensed about the same time Shen did and they both stiffened. Hong Kong was never truly empty of people and the crowd of people were more than Yoshi would have liked to have around in any sort of hostile situation.

Shen seemed to have the same thought as she gently tugged on his arm. The streets were full and there didn't seem to be much of a chance of them finding an area with fewer people but Shen had her eyes face upwards… towards the rooftops.

There was someone walking casually towards them from their right about a block away, and from the left there was a vendor who didn't actually seem to be promoting his wears who had his eyes on them. But there was a slightly run down building across the street with enough cover for them to get above the crowds just across the street from them.

Yoshi doubted there was just two tails and there was a part of him that wondered if getting away from witnesses would be the best idea but Shen was tense and he wasn't willing contend with her first instinct to get away when they were safer together. There were cars in the street but getting across without making too big of a fuss went smoothly and revealed the man with a hat who almost reached them as they made their way across the street.

The hairs on the back of Yoshi's neck stood up about the same time that Shen's hand tightened around his just before letting go so she could start scaling the construction scaffolding.

Yoshi turned around and ducked under the tape, all three of their tails had moved in closer. The bystanders on the street weren't paying any attention though one woman who had got a glance of him ducking around the tape gave him a dirty glare and started muttering in Cantonese assuring him that she wasn't someone after them… though the teenage boy with a knife behind her was. Yoshi grabbed the bar above his head and pulled himself upwards as fast as he could leveraging himself out of reach from the young man who lunged catching the attention of several civilians on the street there was a scream and the other three tails gave up subtlety to start racing towards their position.

Yoshi kept his monkeying movement upwards dropping his attention deflecting movements in exchange for speed. He sensed more than saw the boy reach back to throw his knife and he hoped that he would have enough room to dodge out of the way but before it became a problem a rock went flying past his face and there was a clang and a shout of surprise and pain that made him grin. Shen had always had a wonderful throwing arm.

There were more shouts coming from below him and Yoshi finally flipped onto the roof and looked down to see the vendor and the man with the hat making their way up. Shen to his side had several other stones in her hand and was making things hard for them. The boy who had been going to throw the knife seemed to have his own problems as the angry woman he had been using as cover earlier had turned around and was now hitting him with her handbag and yelling in cantonese rather than muttering.

That was three accounted for but where was the fourth? Yoshi pulled a kunai from his belt and jumped to the left hand of the roof while Shen was forced to jump to the right to dodge the incoming shuriken as the first tail they had spotted jumped at them from the neighboring building.

Yoshi's heart froze as he recognized the man. Takashi had been one of his father's most loyal ninja and he had occasionally given him and Saki treats when he would come back form his missions.

But Takashi didn't even pause as he lunged forward his signature Katana in hand. Yoshi barely brought up his arm in time to block the blow and Takashi pressed the advantage forcing him to balance along the edge of the roof.

The Katana sliced right and Yoshi had to hold onto his small Kunai blade with both hands to give himself enough power to push back against the longer blade. With his hands occupied there would be no opportunity to grab a better weapon until he made one. Yoshi's eyes narrowed as the blade pulled away in preparation for the next strike but Yoshi went low and aimed a kick at them man's knees. Expecting that, the black clad ninja jumped and flipped over him forcing Yoshi to turn around and lean away from the his opponent's strike. Taking the chance he threw the Kunai and reached into his shirt where he had been keeping a pair of Sai hidden. They had been secured firmly to his back so as to not draw attention to them but the delay of pulling them out didn't seem to be worth it in the current situation. He ended up ripping the fabric in desperation to get his two sai up in time to meet the oncoming blade.

The new position gave him a chance to see how Shen was doing. The traveling they had been doing had required them to pack light and be prepared to drop anything at a moments notice. This hadn't stopped Yoshi and Shen from picking up a few weapons but they were both limited on the size of what they could carry and disguise discreetly. While Yoshi had managed to grab the Sai he was carrying Shen only had a few knives and a sling on her. The sling had seemed an odd choice to him even though she pointed out that she could pass it off as a bracelet easily. Now she was proving it's worth. One of her opponents was already down and unconscious and while the other was having better luck dodging her rocks had given her time to prepare for his assault.

Reassured that Shen was holding her own, his focus slid back onto Takashi. This was a man who had known him his whole life. If there was anyone in the clan that he would be able to talk to this was him.

"Takashi, I don't want to fight you. Why are you attacking?"

"Hm, I had wondered how much you actually figured out, I guess you just answered that." Takashi jumped back and brought his blade with him sliding it out of the sai's lock. Takashi only paused momentarily to look at Yoshi… with contempt in his eyes before leaning forward to swing at him again. "Your father always was soft on you." Yoshi jumped back shock keeping him on the defensive. "But then your father had been going soft for years."

"My father was a great man! Do not dishonor him by saying-" Yoshi was cut off as Takashi started a more complex set of movements that forced Yoshi to take several steps back.

"You're father, used to be a great man! But he died in his decline." Yoshi finally managed to capture the katana again but the sight of his opponents eyes kept him from ripping it out of his grasp. "You were born just as the great waring periods were ending. After hundreds of years of feuding and destruction your father used his brilliance to finally wipe out the foot clan down to the very last child. The spoils were glorious but in that final battle your mother died." Takashi leaned in closer and Yoshi readjusted his foot work trying to compensate but still horribly thrown off balance by his words. "Something broke in your father that day. All of Japan should have been at our feet, the government was ours for the taking, with the foot clan gone we could expand across to Korea, the wars going on there were just winding down and we could have inflamed them back up to our advantage. But your father let it all go! He pulled back and told us he would be working on the infrastructure of the clan to help strengthen us but instead we stagnated under a broken man."

Yoshi stared in shock at the open hatred in Takashi's eyes. He had known Takashi his whole life, never once had he seen this level of passion. As monstrous as the picture that he was painting with his story sounded it was clear that this was what mattered most to the man. The fight, the battle, the domination. He had known the stories of the clan growing up. He had heard many of them from Takashi himself, the battles and the brilliant moves of destruction and subterfuge that shaped a ninja's life. Like all young children the stories themselves were brilliant and exciting, it was only much later in life that he had figured out that death and pain was the price tag for such 'glorious' war stories.

Once he had come to that realization there had been an obvious conclusion in his head: The Hamato clan must always be prepared to defend themselves but they should also be grateful for the peace that they did have.

He never once thought that anyone would want that kind of constant battling lifestyle back.

"We did have high hopes for you and Saki as you started getting older, you were both gifted warriors and you learned quickly, but as time went on it became obvious that only one of you had the dedication and desire to bring the clan back to what it once was, what we were meant to be."

Takashi gave him a grim smile and the last shreds of hope in Yoshi's heart died away. "Saki proved his desire to conquer when he drove you and the Tang family out and killed anyone who doubted him for it. The clan was never yours Yoshi, you were never strong enough for it. There was too much of your mother in you."

Yoshi's grip slipped and one of his Sai went flying off the roof, but he didn't care, he screamed and kicked Takashi in the solar plexus hard enough for the man to choke and start coughing up blood and with a twirl of the other Sai he smashed the handle into the man's head knocking him out cold.

His breath came out in gasps far greater than what was deserving for the fight but he felt so drained.

"Yoshi?" He turned to face the new threat but was met with Shen's worried face. Her hair was a bit wild but she looked unharmed.

At least he had that.

Even if it was only that.

"Yoshi, we have to go, the boy from earlier never made it onto the roof but he saw me take down the last one and he got away, there will be reinforcements here before we know it." She reached out and gently touched his forearm and he slowly lowered his hands to his side.

"Yes… yes, you are right, we need to go."

Her eyes were worried and Yoshi gave into the temptation to pull her into a hug. She didn't flinch away and much to his gratitude she didn't mention the shaking in his arms either.

They made it back to the apartment quickly and Noma took one look at them before grabbing her bag and they were off again. This time there was no paper trail of tickets as the three of them snuck onto the luggage section of the soonest outbound flight.

"Better settle in for a long cold flight we are on our way to New Delhi, India." Noma said quietly as the plane finally lifted up off the ground.

Yoshi nodded, a part of him just wanted to be alone but there was barely enough space for him and Shen to fit side by side with Noma just across from them, in the small luggage compartment. It would not be a comfortable flight no matter what they did.

Shen sighed, leaned into him, and closed her eyes, Noma smiled at them briefly before closing her own eyes and leaning against a fuzzy blue luggage case.

And Yoshi stayed awake.

He didn't want to think, but with his spirit so tied up he knew the only way forward would be through meditation but he did not want to know what his inner self looked like after having Takashi's words thrown at him.

And so he meditated with his eyes open. Staring at the wall with both Noma and Shen in his peripheral vision. They had always been there. They had been the warmth in his life as he had grown and changed Shen had been there by his side, listening even when his father and brother wouldn't.

He couldn't even picture his life without them in it. He wasn't sure he wanted to anymore either.

The clan he had thought was real no longer existed… perhaps it never had. His father's actions made sense to Yoshi. Where was the honor in destruction? But he could still see the energy behind Takashi's eyes, he knew that Takashi wasn't the only one with that view either. He didn't know why his father had never told them more about why they lived as they did. It had always been a fact of life. Yoshi was going to be a ninja. But what was the point?

If death and destruction was all that a ninja was good for it would make sense that his father was dead and his brother had gone crazy.

But that couldn't be all there was. While so many clan members had focused on the glory of battle and the thrill of the subterfuge his father and… and Shen, they had both talked about heros about, defense and healing and repelling darkness.

When he had the clan in mind, he had never thought about how they had gotten to be the last of their kind... but now that he was thinking about it there really was only explanation. Only one reason why the secrets of ninjutsu were guarded so fiercely.

Because they had been forged in blood.

Yoshi sighed and finally did close his eyes. He had always been a product of the clan, the heir of an empire, the son of power… and now he wasn't.

So who was he now?

The question did not let him meditate or rest for the rest of the flight.

\--o0o--

"Mom I'm worried about him."

"He just needs time, not all of us spend our free time imagining our responses to tragedy. Everything is just catching up to him."

"I know I just wish I could help."

It wasn't an unusual conversation for him to overhear. After another week of sneaking around they had finally deemed it safe to travel publicly again after traveling on foot through a good portion of India taking refuge at Sikh gurdwaras, and buying new clothes. Yoshi felt like a shadow of his former self. Or maybe a splinter of his former self, he thought sardonically. It was a sad day when he found himself understanding more and more why any version of himself would hide away from the world in a sewer for nearly two decades.

He did his best to keep his spirits up but he just couldn't see the point. If Shen weren't there with him he didn't think he'd be able to do anything at all. She tried to keep his spirits up and he would admit, there was always something magical to look at in the world when she was there to point it out. Even trees seemed fascinating to her, she talked about slow growth and protection and something about an english poem she remembered from her past life something about the stronger the wind the stronger the trees.

But even with the peace that Shen brought to him he couldn't help but doubt everything about himself.

He wasn't sure if he believed in fate but the existence of ninja turtles on both paper and ink and in his life made him wonder about some sort of destiny. Did he like Shen because he liked her? Or was it because someone had 'written' his story that way. The idea that his struggle was just something made up hurt him and added another layer to his questions of purpose.

Who was he without his father? Who was he without his clan? Who was he if his life had been thrown off track of some predetermined story?

Shen spoke sometimes of her faith but Yoshi wasn't sure he was ready for that.

Noma spoke of the Shinto spirits that Yoshi had been more aware of growing up.

There were times looking out over an ocean, through a forest, or around a city and he had to admit the world seemed too much too big for just his human understanding.

But when he wasn't sure who he was how was he supposed to start figuring out what the purpose of life was?

Sometimes he didn't let himself think of anything at all. He just reacted and let himself flow with the currents of people around him. Noma and Shen spoke quietly about what kind of influence Saki could wield with the Hamato name behind him rather than the Foot. They talked about trying to gather contacts, and people who could help them if push came to shove. Noma even talked about starting up a bakery in New York… something about making cherry pies.

It all washed over him.

After another long flight this one in actual seats they were now somewhere in Italy and dully Yoshi noted the art and culture surrounding them. Western art had always been a favorite of his. As much as his father disapproved there was something beautiful about it. He had always wanted to visit Italy… it figured his whole life would have to fall apart for him to get to see it.

"Hey Yoshi?" Broken out of his thoughts he looked up to see Shen standing in the doorway to his room. "I wanted to go see something and I was wondering if you would come with me?"

He didn't answer but he stood up and she smiled at him and took his hand.

She didn't let go even as they got onto a train and then into a taxi and then started walking. He let her pull him along and contemplated how firm her hands were rather than think about anything symbolic in the gesture.

It was as they showed their papers to a guard that Yoshi finally started to look around.

They were in Saint Peter's square in the smallest country in the world.

"You wanted to go to Vatican City?" He asked his eyes drawn to the brightly colored clothes on the guards and the domed building in front of them. As it was for many of their visiting places there were large crowds of people to make it easier to slip in and out unnoticed.

"Did you know that the Sistine Chapel has been closed to the public since 1984?"

The question threw him off balance but Yoshi raised an eyebrow. "Yes, they have been doing renovations and restorations."

"They just opened it back up to the public a few months ago."

Yoshi leaned back in surprise somehow he had missed the news though now he remembered looking forward to the reopening at some point before everything had gone crazy. There was a flicker of anticipation inside and the emotion felt like coming home. .

Shen turned and smile at him. "I remembered you know. I remembered that you wanted to see it." She laughed as they started making their way through the crowds. She looked like she wanted to say more but she paused and the moment was lost.

They made their way towards the chapel quickly, all around were displays showing the contrast between the chapel now and what it had been two years ago. His english still wasn't quite where he wanted it to be and his italian was non-existent but he caught phrases here and there about how the restoration of the chapel came to pass.

It seemed like one moment they were on one side of the courtyard and the next they were waiting to enter the chapel. Yoshi wiped his left hand on the side of his pants but didn't even consider letting to of Shen's hand.

"This was Michelangelo's masterpiece…" He found himself muttering.

"Years spent here painting," Shen agreed quietly. "And his work is still here today."

"Before the restoration hundreds of years of candle smoke and dust had accumulated." Yoshi said as they finally entered and his eyes landed on the first paintings along the walls. Detailed, beautiful, and brighter than any copy he had seen before.

"Even under the grime it was still an awe inspiring work." Shen squeezed his hand as Yoshi's eyes trailed up the walls and towards the ceiling. "But for hundreds of years people would look up and think that that was all there was to life. Beauty, but hidden beneath washed out grey and now…"

Yoshi didn't realize his eyes were watering until he blinked and warmth fell down his cheeks. "It's beautiful."

Shen leaned into his side and Yoshi still stood trasfixed. This was the work of one man's hands restored and revived into bright colors that hadn't been seen in centuries. What a gift it was to the world.

They didn't move for a long time and Yoshi let details of the art wash not over him but into him.

This was a legacy. This was a creation that would leave its mark on the world. Works of mastery did not come quickly and were that much more precious for the time that went into them.

But even masterpieces needed a restoration every now and again.

There had always been three things that mattered to him more than anything in the world.

His father, who had loved him, distantly at times, but who had done his best with what he had, who had been strong, and honorable, and wise. That was a legacy that he could still hold on to.

His clan, or at least the idea of the clan, a group of people dedicated to protection and defense, who would never strike first but who would fight with fire when called upon. It would take time, and it might not be in the way he had first envisioned it but with Shen at his side and the memory of shells at his back fighting side by side perhaps it was possible again.

And Shen… Shen who had never left him. Who listened, and cried, and laughed, and who was his best friend. He had known her since he was seven years old and he wanted to be by her side for as long as she wanted him there. Forever if he could manage it.

He finally looked away from the depictions of angels and gods and looked down to find her eyes already looking up at him.

"Shen, will you marry me?"

Her mouth opened in a silent gasp and her eyes searched his face in shock. Yoshi stood there silently willing her to feel his sincerity. He didn't know everything that was coming and that was okay, she didn't know what was coming either. That was life, full of uncertainty, trails, and sometimes it just felt smokey, dusty, and grey. But there was something of worth underneath.

Yoshi wasn't done creating his life's masterpiece yet and he wanted to start off his restoration with the help of someone who would work with him to build something that would change the world. This was him making his own decisions, finding his own purpose, this was him asking the love of his life to marry him.

Shen's eyes shined as she seemed to finally see his thoughts her reply came out shaky but the light on her face was almost an answer in itself. "Yes."

The paintings themselves could have come alive and started singing and Yoshi would never have noticed anything outside of the feel of her in his arms, her hands wrapping up around his neck, and the way she smiled into their kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is by far the longest chapter I have ever written for a fic before and I'm happy with the way it turned out there are still some issues with the pacing but that's something I'm still working on as a writer and over all grief doesn't have a set time limit. Life is fast then slow.
> 
> Some fun side notes the Sistine Chapel reopened in April of 1994 am I basing this story on the assumption that the events of the first episode of the 2012 series will be in 2012. So if we're looking at the math, April and Karai/Miwa should be 1995-1996 babies while the turtles are somewhere around 1996-1997. If you've been keeping up with the ages, Shen is approximately 24 and Yoshi is 26.
> 
> Sihk gurdwaras are places of worship for those of the Sihk faith those who worship there sing and read scriptures but they are also known for their food kitchens which almost always serve a vegetarian fare because they want everyone to be able to have a chance to come and eat.
> 
> Also little old ladies can be some of the kindest/scariest people ever doesn't matter what nationality, race, or religion.
> 
> I'm thinking it'll be two weeks to the next chapter and we're going to be exploring some of my head canons for the series and taking a peek into what's going on over on the other side of the world. After all just because we have time traveling villains, and a newly insane Saki doesn't mean that the Kraang aren't still out there...
> 
> Till next time!

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you all think and I'd love to answer any questions.


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